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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90045-90046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26448]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039024; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Inventory Completion: Louisiana State University, 
Museum of Natural Science, Baton Rouge, LA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Louisiana State University, Museum of 
Natural Science (LSUMNS) has completed an inventory of human remains 
and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a 
cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this 
notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after December 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Irene Mart[iacute] Gil, LSU Museum of Natural Science, 
119 Foster Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, telephone (225) 578-2855, 
email [email protected].

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 the 
LSUMNS, and additional information on the determinations in this 
notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the 
inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, 16 individuals have been reasonably identified. No known 
individuals were identified. The 24 associated funerary objects are 
pottery vessels, effigies, and disks; stone mortars; bone awls; and 
glass beads.
    From the Bayou Matherne site (16LF3, located at the confluence of 
Bayous Vacherie and Matherne in Lafourche Parish, LA), human remains 
representing, at a minimum, three adult individuals, were removed by 
James Q. Harris during two separate surface collection events in 1985. 
The burials could be Coles Creek-Plaquemine. The four funerary objects 
include one probably Mississippian clay bird head effigy, one 
undiagnostic bone awl, one undiagnostic stone mortar, and one Maddox 
Incised Effigy bowl. They have been identified as Late Plaquemine, 
Choctaw, and Caddo. One modern clay pipe replica, possibly Caddo, is 
available for repatriation as well. All five objects were acquired by 
William McIntire and Roger Saucier in 1952 and accessioned into the 
LSUMNS in 1953.
    From the Sanson Place site (16RA1, also Joseph's Island, Stock 
Landing, located on a terrace by the Catahoula Lake in Rapides Parish, 
LA), 15 aboriginal vessels in various states of repair were transferred 
from ``Mrs. Evans'' to the LSUMNS in 1932 and 1935. Some `vessels' are 
distinctive sherds; others are partially reconstructed vessels. While 
the GIS database attributed the site to Plaquemine and Mississippian 
cultures, the current consensus for the cultural attribution of the 
Sanson Place site favors a Plaquemine component, albeit with strong 
Caddo influences/relationships.
    From the Woodward Place site (16RA05, also known as Rougeau Mounds, 
located on a terrace knoll west of Bayou Robert or Boeuf and east of

[[Page 90046]]

Woodworth, in Rapides Parish, LA), human remains representing, at a 
minimum, 13 individuals, were removed by James Ford during a surface 
collection in 1933. The five associated funerary objects are one 
aboriginal pot, two copper-covered clay disks, one Maddox Engraved var. 
Baptiste jar, and one lot of white European glass trade beads. The 
burials could be Coles Creek, Plaquemine, Caddo Unknown, Historic 
Indian Contact A.D. 1200-1700.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The Louisiana State University, Museum of Natural Science (LSUMNS) 
has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 16 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 24 objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony.
     There is a connection between the human remains and the 
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Caddo 
Nation of Oklahoma; Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana; Jena Band of Choctaw 
Indians; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; and The Choctaw Nation of 
Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
authorized representative identified in this notice under 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after December 
16, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the 
Louisiana State University, Museum of Natural Science (LSUMNS) must 
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The Louisiana State University, Museum of Natural Science 
(LSUMNS) is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian 
Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: November 5, 2024
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-26448 Filed 11-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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