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###### Department of the Interior

###### National Park Service

          - [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037480; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

# AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

# ACTION:

Notice.

# SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM Alaska) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were removed from near Wainwright in the North Slope Borough, Alaska.

# DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after March 29, 2024.

# ADDRESSES:

                        Miriam (Nicole) Hayes, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W 7th Avenue #13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone (907) 271-4354, email                         *mnhayes@blm.gov.*

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of BLM Alaska. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by BLM Alaska.

## Description

In 1980, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Siraagruk archeological site (WAI-095), about 17 miles northeast of Wainwright, AK. The human remains, which are estimated to be over 120 years old, were excavated by an archeological crew working under authority of the BLM. The human remains were shipped to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where they remained until moved to Anchorage, AK. In 2023, they were transferred to the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, AK, where they are currently held. The identity of the individual is unknown. No associated funerary objects are present.

## Cultural Affiliation

The human remains in this notice are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were used to reasonably trace the relationship: archeological information and oral tradition.

## Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, BLM Alaska has determined that:
    - The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
    - There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains described in this notice and the Village of Wainwright.

## Requests for Repatriation

                    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in                     **ADDRESSES**                    . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:                

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after March 29, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, BLM Alaska must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. BLM Alaska is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

                    This notice was submitted before the effective date of the revised regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12, 2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the                     **Federal Register**                     and includes the required information, the National Park Service is publishing this notice as submitted.                

*Authority:*                     Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.                

Dated: February 20, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2024-04094 Filed 2-27-24; 8:45 am]

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