[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 164 (Thursday, August 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49946-49947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16879]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Kitsap County Coroner's Office, 
Port Orchard, WA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 possession of the 
Kitsap County Coroner's Office, Port Orchard, WA. The human remains are 
believed to have been removed from Bremerton, Kitsap 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 the Kitsap 
County Coroner's Office professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison 
Reservation, Washington.
    Prior to 1998, human remains representing a minimum of two 
individuals were removed from an unknown site in Bremerton, Kitsap 
County, WA. There is limited information regarding the circumstances 
surrounding the removal of the human remains. The human remains are 
believed to have been removed from private residential property in 
Bremerton, however, research of archived records reveals no 
documentation detailing the event. The property owner allegedly brought 
the human remains to the Kitsap County Coroner's Office where they have 
since been housed. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    The human remains have been determined to be Native American based 
on morphology. The geographical area from which the remains are 
presumed to have been removed indicates affiliation with the Suquamish

[[Page 49947]]

Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, Washington. Historical 
evidence presented during consultation supports this determination.
    Officials of the Kitsap County Coroner's Office have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains listed above 
represent the physical remains of a minimum of two individuals of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the Kitsap County Coroner's 
Office also have 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 Suquamish 
Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, Washington.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Louise 
Hall, Chief Deputy Coroner, Kitsap County Coroner's Office, 714 
Division Street MS-17, Port Orchard, WA 98366, telephone (360) 337-
5603, before September 26, 2005. Repatriation of the human remains to 
the Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, Washington 
may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    Kitsap County Coroner's Office is responsible for notifying the 
Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, Washington that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 22, 2005.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 05-16879 Filed 8-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S