[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 42 (Thursday, March 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9633-9634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4671]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Energy, 
Richland Operations Office, Richland, WA and Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains in the control of the U.S. 
Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, Richland, WA, and in 
the physical custody of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology 
(Hearst Museum), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. The 
human remains were removed from Benton County, WA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Hearst 
Museum professional staff on behalf of the Department of Energy and in 
consultation with representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 
Indian Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama 
Nation, Washington; Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and Wanapum Band, a non-
Federally recognized Indian group.
    In 1947, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were collected from site 45BN157, Jaeger's Island, located on the U.S. 
Department of Energy's Hanford Site near the south bank of the Columbia 
River approximately one mile west of Vernita Bridge, Benton County, WA, 
by Francis Riddell. The human remains consist of a patella and a shaft 
fragment representing a minimum of one individual adult, sex unknown 
(catalog 2-21580). No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    The human remains were determined to be Native American based on 
the geographic location. Ethnographic documentation indicates that the 
present-day location of the Hanford Site, Benton County WA, is located 
within an overlapping aboriginal territory of the descendants of the 
Yakama, Walla Walla, and Wanapum groups, which are represented today by 
the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington; 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; and the 
Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian group. The Confederated 
Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington, and Nez Perce Tribe, 
Idaho are also known to have used the area routinely.
    Officials of the Department of Energy and the Hearst Museum have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the Department of Energy and the 
Hearst Museum have also determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 
(2), there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be 
reasonably traced between the Native American human remains and the 
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington; 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington; and Nez 
Perce Tribe, Idaho. Furthermore, officials of the Department of Energy 
and the Hearst Museum have determined that there is a cultural 
relationship between the human remains and the Wanapum Band, a non-
Federally recognized Indian group.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact 
Annabelle Rodriguez, U.S. Department of Energy, Cultural/Historic 
Resources Program, Richland Operations Office, 825 Jadwin Avenue, MSIN 
A5-15 Richland, WA 99352, telephone (509) 372-0277, before April 6, 
2009. Repatriation of the human remains to the Confederated Tribes of 
the Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the 
Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of 
the Yakama Nation, Washington; Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and Wanapum 
Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian group, may proceed after that 
date if no additional claimants come forward. The Confederated Tribes 
of the Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the 
Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of 
the Yakama Nation, Washington; Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and Wanapum 
Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian group, are claiming jointly all 
cultural items from the Hanford area.
    The Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office is responsible 
for notifying the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, 
Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, 
Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington; 
Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized 
Indian group, that this notice has been published.


[[Page 9634]]


    Dated: January 26, 2009.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-4671 Filed 3-4-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S