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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92971-92972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27506]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039101; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Inventory Completion: Sam Noble Museum of Natural 
History, Norman, OK

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 Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural 
History (SNOMNH) 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 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Marc Levine, Associate Curator of Archaeology, Sam Noble 
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, 2401 
Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, telephone (405) 325-1994, 
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 
SNOMNH, 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

    Human remains representing, at least, 14 individuals were removed 
from the Henry Peck site (34Lf23) in LeFlore County, OK. This site was 
excavated in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and 
transferred to the Museum in 1947. The human remains include five 
females, one male, three probable females, two probable males, one 
adult for whom sex could not be determined, and two individuals for 
whom age and sex could not be determined. No known individuals were 
identified. The 44 associated funerary objects are seven stone 
projectile points, one stone celt, three paintstones, three potsherds, 
18 shell beads, two bone hairpins, one bone awl, one deer antler 
billet, one deer bone, one bear tooth, one polished bone, and five bags 
of animal bone fragments. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects from site 34Lf23 were interred during the Woodland Period (300 
B.C.-A.D. 900).
    In 1939-1940 and in 1947, human remains representing, at minimum, 
252 individuals were removed from the J.W. Williams 1 site (34Lf24) in 
LeFlore County, OK. This site was excavated by the WPA, and the 
associated finds were transferred to the Museum in 1947. The human 
remains include 35 adult females, 12 adult males, 24 adolescents, 37 
children, 12 infants, 36 probable adult females, 21 probable adult 
males, 32 adults for whom sex could not be determined, and 43 
individuals for whom age and sex could not be determined. The 340 
associated funerary objects are 38 potsherds, 41 projectile points, one 
projectile point embedded in hard-soil matrix, 67 projectile point 
fragments, three stone bifaces, six stone biface fragments, one stone 
core, one stone hoe fragment, three boatstones, four boatstone 
fragments, four stone manos, two stone celts, three stone gorget 
fragments, one nutting-stone, one stone axe, 11 bags of paintstones, 
three worked stones, three unmodified stones, four bone awls, eight 
bone awl fragments, one bone knife, eight bags of turtle shell 
fragments, two bags of deer antler fragments, one bag of deer mandible 
fragments, two animal teeth, 97 bags of animal bone fragments, six bags 
of shell beads, one shell pendant, one perforated conch shell, two bags 
of shells, one shell and one projectile point embedded in hard-soil 
matrix, one bag of wood fragments, eight bags of ash samples, two bags 
of daub, and one bag of burned clay. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects from site 34Lf24 were interred during the Woodland 
Period (300 B.C.-A.D. 900).
    Human remains representing, at least, 21 individuals were removed 
from the J.W. Williams 2 site (34Lf25) in LeFlore County, OK. The site 
was excavated by the WPA in 1939-1940 and transferred to the Museum in 
1940. The human remains include two adult females, one adult male, two 
children, three infants, eight probable adult females, two probable 
adult males, and three adults for whom sex could not be determined. No 
known individuals were identified. The 37 associated funerary objects 
are four stone projectile points, one bone flute, one bone bracelet, 
nine bone beads, one modified animal bone, three deer antlers, one 
tooth, 10 animal bones, one bag of unidentified animal bones, one shell 
fragment, four copper beads, and one wood fragment. The human remains 
and associated funerary objects from site 34Lf25 were interred during 
the Woodland Period (300 B.C.-A.D. 900).
    Human remains representing, at least, 101 individuals were removed 
from the James B. Sam site (34Lf28) in LeFlore County, OK. The site was 
excavated by the WPA in 1940 and transferred to the Museum in 1947. The 
human remains include 27 adult females, three adult males, seven 
adolescents, seven children, 26 probable adult females, nine probable 
adult males, 15 adults for whom sex could not be determined, and seven 
individuals for whom age and sex could not be determined. No known 
individuals were identified. The 86 associated funerary objects are 
seven ceramic vessels, three potsherds, 26 projectile points, one 
projectile point fragment, one stone drill, one stone bead, three stone 
celts, one stone mano, one hammerstone, one stone biface, two 
paintstones, one perforated stone, one bag of bone beads, one bone awl, 
two bags of deer jaw fragments, three bags of deer bone fragments, one 
bag of bear teeth, one dog mandible, one bag of worked animal bone, 23 
bags of animal bone fragments, three bags of shell beads, one metal 
bead, and one bag of ash. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects from site 34Lf28 were interred during the Woodland Period (300 
B.C.-A.D. 900).

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in 
this notice.

[[Page 92972]]

Determinations

    The SNOMNH has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 388 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 507 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 
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Caddo 
Nation of Oklahoma and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, 
Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after December 26, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the SNOMNH 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 SNOMNH 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 18, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-27506 Filed 11-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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