[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 9 (Friday, January 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2928-2929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1111]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the Utah Museum of 
Natural History, Salt Lake City, UT, and in the Control of the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado 
Region, Salt Lake City, UT

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

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 in possession of the Utah Museum of Natural History, 
Salt Lake City, UT, and in control of the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region, Salt Lake City, 
UT.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 102.2(c). The 
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these 
cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations within this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Bureau 
of Reclamation and Utah Museum of Natural History professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah; 
Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians of the Kaibab Indian Reservation, 
Arizona; San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe of Arizona; White Mesa Ute 
Tribe; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; 
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; 
and the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, 
New Mexico & Utah.
    In 1962, human remains representing one individual were collected 
from a site near Bicknell, Wayne County, UT, under a memorandum of 
agreement between the Department of

[[Page 2929]]

Anthropology, University of Utah, and the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, National Park Service, acting on behalf of the Bureau of 
Reclamation during the archeological inventory for the Glen Canyon 
Archeological Project. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Archaeological evidence indicates that the human remains are Native 
American from the protohistoric or contact period. Geography, kinship, 
anthropology, and linguistics evidence, and expert opinion indicate 
that the remains are those of a member of the Escalante Band of the 
Southern Paiute, who inhabited this area during the protohistoric and 
contact period, and who are most closely associated with the 
contemporary Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.
    In 1962, human remains representing two individuals were collected 
from a site near Escalante, Garfield County, UT, under a memorandum of 
agreement between the Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, 
and the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, acting 
on behalf of the Bureau of Reclamation during the archaeological 
inventory for the Glen Canyon Archaeological Project. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Material culture near the interments indicate that the human 
remains are Native American from the contact period. Geography, 
kinship, anthropology, and linguistics evidence, and expert opinion 
indicate that the remains are the two individuals are those of members 
of the Escanlante Band of the Southern Paiute, who inhabited this area 
during the protohistoric and contact period, and who are most closely 
associated with the contemporary Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Bureau 
of Reclamation have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(d)(1), the 
human remains above represent the physical remains of three individuals 
of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Bureau of Reclamation 
also have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(e), there is a 
relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced 
between these Native American human remains and the Paiute Indian Tribe 
of Utah.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Paiute Indian Tribe 
of Utah; Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians of the Kaibab Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe of Arizona; White 
Mesa Ute Tribe; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, 
Utah; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, 
Colorado; and the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, 
Colorado, New Mexico & Utah. Representatives of any other Indian tribe 
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human 
remains should contact Dr. Nancy Coulam, Regional Archaeologist, Bureau 
of Reclamation, 125 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84138-1102, 
telephone (801) 524-3684, before February 12, 2001. Repatriation of the 
human remains to the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah may begin after that 
date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: January 4, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-1111 Filed 1-11-01; 8:45 am]
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