[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62199-62200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24514]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-16764; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Forest Service, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin 
National Grassland, Laramie, WY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, 
Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland 
(MBRTB) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no 
cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects and any present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations. Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request to the USDA Forest Service 
MBRTB. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of 
the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian tribes 
or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to the USDA Forest Service MBRTB at the address in this 
notice by November 17, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Thomas Whitford, District Ranger, MBRTB, 2468 Jackson 
Street, Laramie, WY 82070-6535, telephone (307) 745-2300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the USDA Forest 
Service MBRTB, Laramie, WY. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects were removed from a burial site southwest of Upton, Weston 
County, WY.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 
43 CFR 10.11(d). 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 and associated funerary 
objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the USDA 
Forest Service MBRTB professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, 
Wyoming; Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian 
Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously 
listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma); Cheyenne River 
Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa-
Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Comanche Nation, 
Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the 
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; and the Pawnee Nation of 
Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1981, human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals 
were removed from the Frog Creek oil field lands in Weston County, WY. 
This site is on Federal land, within the boundaries of the Medicine 
Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland. Oil 
company workers discovered some human remains under rocks near their 
worksite approximately 64 kilometers southwest of Upton, Wyoming. The 
burial had previously been disturbed and the rocks originally used to 
cover the individuals had been moved. The Weston and Converse County 
Sheriff's departments were notified at the time of discovery and the 
human remains were sent to Dr. George Gill at the University of Wyoming 
for biological analysis. On October 12, 1982, Dr. Gill, George 
Darlington, David McKee, and David Darlington (USDA Forest Service) 
conducted follow-up excavations at the discovery site and collected 
additional human remains. The human remains were found in sand deposits 
on top of a butte overlooking the valley below. They appeared not to 
have been buried but simply covered with large flat stones.
    The human remains were analyzed for Native American heritage, age, 
and sex by the professional staff of the University of Wyoming. The 
remains consist of four American Indian individuals. They are 
fragmented, and many bone elements were not present. The most complete 
individual is an adult female who was 50-65 years of age. The second 
set of remains is an adult male represented by only a few bone 
fragments. A third set of remains is of a child 6-7 years of age. An 
infant child is represented by a fourth set of fragmentary remains. No 
known individuals were identified. The two associated funerary objects 
are two small and partial damaged tubular non-human (canid) bone beads

Determinations Made by the USDA Forest Service Medicine Bow-Routt 
National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland

    Officials of the USDA Forest Service MBRTB have determined that:
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on archaeological evidence.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of four individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the two objects 
described in this notice 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.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day 
Indian tribe.
    <bullet> According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the 
Native American human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed is the aboriginal land of the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River 
Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously 
listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma); Chippewa-Cree 
Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana; 
and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian 
Reservation, Montana.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects may be to the Arapaho 
Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho 
Tribes, Oklahoma (previously listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of 
Oklahoma); Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, 
Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana; and

[[Page 62200]]

the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian 
Reservation, Montana.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 
not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control 
of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Thomas 
Whitford, District Ranger, USDA Forest Service MBRTB, 2468 Jackson 
Street, Laramie, WY, telephone (307) 745-2443, by November 17, 2014. 
After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; 
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously listed as the 
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma); Chippewa-Cree Indians of the 
Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana; and the 
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, 
Montana, may proceed.
    The USDA Forest Service MBRTB is responsible for notifying the of 
the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Assiniboine 
and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne 
and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho 
Tribes of Oklahoma); Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River 
Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's 
Reservation, Montana; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; 
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, 
Montana; and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: September 22, 2014.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2014-24514 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P