[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 80 (Monday, April 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20647-20648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11104]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects from Clay County, SD in the Possession 
of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center, Rapid City, 
SD

AGENCY: National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects from Clay County, SD in the possession of the South 
Dakota State Archaeological Research Center, Rapid City, SD.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by South Dakota 
State Archaeological Research Center (SARC) professional staff and 
contract specialists in physical anthropology and archeology in 
consultation with representatives of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and 
Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of 
Oklahoma.
    In 1987, human remains representing one individual from the 
Vermillion Bluff Village (39CL1), Clay County, SD were identified in 
SARC collections during inventory procedures. No known individuals were 
identified. The two associated funerary objects include a lunate flint 
knife and a projectile point embedded in the scapula.
    Between 1920-1930, ten individuals and funerary objects were 
donated to the Dakota Museum, University of South Dakota-Vermillion 
(now the W.H. Over Museum) by private property owners following their 
discovery during homes construction at the Vermillion Bluff Village 
site. These human remains and funerary objects were transferred to the 
SARC in 1974. In 1982, six of these individuals, identified as Sioux, 
were repatriated to Frank Fools Crow of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the 
Pine Ridge Reservation. In 1986, four individuals were reburied in 
South Dakota by the

[[Page 20648]]

SARC. In 1987, additional remains and funerary objects from one 
individual included in the 1986 reburial were found in SARC 
collections.
    Based on the associated funerary objects and cranial morphology, 
these human remains have been determined to be Native American. Based 
on manner of interments and material culture, the Vermillion Bluff 
Village has been identified as an occupation site with two 
archeological components, Oneota (1000 A.D.- contact period) and 
Historic (post-1800 A.D.). The cranial morphology of this individual 
exhibits physical characteristics consistent with people associated 
with the Oneota Aspect, such as the Ioway.
    Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the South 
Dakota State Archaeological Research Center have determined that, 
pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above 
represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research 
Center have also determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the 
two objects listed above are reasonably believed to have been placed 
with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as 
part of the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials of the South 
Dakota State Archaeological Research Center have determined that, 
pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is a relationship of shared group 
identity which can be reasonably traced between these Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and the Iowa Tribe of 
Kansas and Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Otoe-Missouria 
Tribe of Oklahoma.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas 
and Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of 
Oklahoma. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes 
itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains and 
associated funerary objects should contact Renee Boen, Curator, South 
Dakota State Archaeological Reserch Center, P.O. Box 1257, Rapid City, 
SD 57709-1257; telephone: (605) 394-1936, before May 27, 1998. 
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to 
the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the 
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma may begin after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
Dated: April 21, 1998.
Francis P. McManamon,
Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 98-11104 Filed 4-24-98; 8:45 am]
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