[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58741-58742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20201]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Consultation on regulations regarding the disposition of 
unclaimed Native American cultural items excavated or discovered on 
Federal or tribal lands after November 16, 1990, pursuant to provisions 
of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of consultation.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces three consultation meetings that will be 
held to obtain oral and written recommendations on regulations to be 
drafted regarding the disposition of unclaimed Native American cultural 
items that are excavated or discovered on Federal or tribal lands after 
November 16, 1990 [43 CFR 10.7].

DATES: The three consultation meetings are scheduled for November 15-
17, 2005:
    1. Tribal consultation: November 15, 2005, 8:30 a.m. to noon, 
Albuquerque, NM. Authorized representatives of Indian tribes and Native 
Hawaiian organizations and traditional Native American religious 
leaders are invited to participate in this meeting. Tribal 
representatives wishing to make a public presentation at this session 
should submit a request to do so by November 11, 2005, including 
evidence that you are authorized to speak on

[[Page 58742]]

behalf of an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. This meeting 
supports the Secretary of the Interior's administrative policy on 
tribal consultation by encouraging maximum direct participation of 
representatives of tribal governments on important Departmental issues 
and processes.
    2. Museum consultation: November 15, 2005, 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Albuquerque, NM. Authorized representatives of museums and national 
museum and scientific organizations are invited to participate in this 
meeting. This meeting supports the Secretary of the Interior's 
responsibility to consult with museums and the scientific community in 
the development of these regulations. Museum representatives wishing to 
make a public presentation at this session should submit a request to 
do so by November 11, 2005, including evidence that you are authorized 
to speak on behalf of a museum or national museum or scientific 
organization.
    3. Review Committee consultation: November 16-17, 2005, 
Albuquerque, NM. This meeting supports the Department of the Interior's 
responsibility to consult with the Review Committee regarding the 
development of regulations. Time will be scheduled during the Review 
Committee meeting for members of the public to provide oral and written 
recommendations. Members of the public wishing to make a public 
presentation at the Review Committee meeting should submit a request to 
do so by November 11, 2005.
    Requests to make presentations at any of the sessions should be 
faxed to (202) 371-5197 by November 11, 2005.
    Written comments may be mailed to Sherry Hutt, Manager, National 
NAGPRA Program, National Park Service, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 
20240. Comments may also be faxed to Sherry Hutt at (202) 371-5197. 
Written comments should be postmarked or faxed no later than November 
30, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The consultation sessions will be held at the Cochiti/Taos 
Room, Albuquerque Convention Center, 401 Second Street NW, Albuquerque, 
NM 87102. A block of lodging rooms has been set-aside at a reduced rate 
at the Double Tree Hotel, which is adjacent to the Convention Center. 
Reservations for rooms in this block may be made by calling (505) 247-
3344 and referencing the National NAGPRA Program. Reservations must be 
made by October 31, 2005, to guarantee the reduced rate available for 
persons attending this meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry Hutt, Manager, National NAGPRA 
Program, National Park Service, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240, 
telephone: (202) 354-1479.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the consultation meetings is 
to provide Native American organizations, museums and the scientific 
community, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation 
Review Committee with an opportunity to consult on forthcoming 
regulations regarding the disposition of unclaimed Native American 
cultural items excavated or discovered on Federal or tribal lands after 
November 16, 1990.
    The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act provides 
criteria for determining the ownership of Native American cultural 
items that are excavated or discovered on Federal or tribal lands after 
November 16, 1990 [25 U.S.C. 3002 (a)]. The Secretary of the Interior 
clarified the ownership criteria by regulations published in 1995 
[Federal Register Vol.60, no. 232, pages 62163-62164]. Ownership of 
such items is, with priority given in the order listed:
    (1) In the case of human remains and associated funerary objects, 
in the lineal descendant of the deceased individual;
    (2) In cases where the lineal descendant cannot be ascertained or 
no claim is made, and with respect to unassociated funerary objects, 
sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony:
    (i) In the Indian tribe on whose tribal land the human remains, 
funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony were 
discovered inadvertently;
    (ii) In the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that has 
the closest cultural affiliation with the human remains, funerary 
objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony;
    (iii) In circumstances in which the cultural affiliation of the 
human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural 
patrimony cannot be ascertained and the objects were discovered 
inadvertently on Federal land that is recognized by a final judgment of 
the Indian Claims Commission or the United States Court of Claims as 
the aboriginal land of an Indian tribe:
    (A) In the Indian tribe aboriginally occupying the Federal land on 
which the human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects 
of cultural patrimony were discovered, or
    (B) If it can be shown that a different Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization has a stronger cultural relationship with the 
human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural 
patrimony, in the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that has 
the strongest demonstrated relationship with the objects [43 CFR 10.6 
(a)].
    The Act directs that Native American cultural items not claimed 
under subsection (a) shall be disposed of in accordance with 
regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior in 
consultation with the Review Committee, Native American groups, 
representatives of museums, and the scientific community [25 U.S.C. 
3002 (b)]. One section of the regulations was reserved for procedures 
to effect the disposition of Native American cultural items that are 
not claimed [43 CFR 10.7].
    Participants in the consultation meetings are requested to comment 
on the following issues:
    (1) How should the regulations deal with the distinction between 
cultural items for which ownership or control has been ascertained 
pursuant to 43 CFR 10.6 (a) but the identified lineal descendant, 
Indian tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization has not claimed the 
cultural items and cultural items for which ownership or control cannot 
be ascertained pursuant to 43 CFR 10.6 (a)?
    (2) How long may a cultural item removed from Federal land after 
November 16, 1990 remain in Federal agency possession before it is 
considered unclaimed?
    (3) What are the appropriate dispositions for unclaimed cultural 
items?
    (4) How should the regulations deal with the management, 
preservation, and use of unclaimed cultural items?

    Dated: September 23, 2005
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 05-20201 Filed 10-6-05; 8:45 am]
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