[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 221 (Monday, November 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68467-68469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27151]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-16873; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK, and the 
University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks, AK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), Alaska State Office, and the University of Alaska Museum of the 
North have completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation 
with

[[Page 68468]]

the appropriate Indian tribes, and have determined that there is a 
cultural affiliation between the human remains and present-day Indian 
tribes. Representatives of any Indian tribe not identified in this 
notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains 
should submit a written request to the BLM Alaska State Office. If no 
additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human 
remains to the Indian tribes stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe not identified in this 
notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains 
should submit a written request with information in support of the 
request to the BLM Alaska State Office at the address in this notice by 
December 17, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Robert King, Alaska State NAGPRA Coordinator, Bureau of 
Land Management, 222 W. 7th Ave., Box 13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7599, 
telephone (907) 271-5510.

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 under 
the control of the BLM Alaska State Office and in the physical custody 
of the University of Alaska Museum of the North. The human remains were 
removed from Barrow, North Slope Borough, AK.
    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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the BLM 
Alaska State Office and the University of Alaska Museum of the North 
professional staff, in consultation with representatives of the Native 
Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1949, partial sets of human remains representing, at minimum, 
four individuals were removed from the tundra surface near Point 
Barrow, AK (Accession Number 0454). The exact location where these 
remains were collected is unknown, and there is little information 
regarding the circumstances surrounding their removal. According to 
records at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, these human 
remains were collected by Owen Rye and R. Hamilton and then deposited 
at the museum in 1949, where they are still housed today. These human 
remains represent four individuals and include two females aged 19-25 
years, one female aged 30-40 years, and one juvenile of an undetermined 
sex aged 4-6 years. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In 1950, a partial set of human remains representing, at minimum, 
one individual was removed from the tundra surface near Point Barrow, 
AK (Accession Number 0499). The exact location where this partial set 
of remains was collected is unknown, and there is little information 
regarding the circumstances surrounding its removal. According to 
records at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, these human 
remains were collected by William Marshall and then deposited at the 
museum in 1950, where they are still housed today. These remains 
represent a single individual consisting of a female aged 40-50 years. 
No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    In 1952, partial sets of human remains representing, at minimum, 
seven individuals were removed from tundra surface burials at Point 
Barrow, AK (Accession Number UA64-108(01)). The exact location where 
these remains were collected is unknown, and there is little 
information regarding the circumstances surrounding their removal. 
According to records at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, 
these human remains were collected by William Irving and deposited at 
the museum sometime between 1952 and 1964, where they are still housed 
today. These remains represent seven individuals consisting of two 
males aged 36-55 years, one male aged 20-30 years, one female aged 20-
30 years, one female aged 20-40 years, one male aged 30+ years, and one 
juvenile of an unknown sex aged 6-8 years. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1953, a partial set of human remains representing, at minimum, 
one individual was removed from a tundra surface grave near Point 
Barrow, AK (Accession Number 0668). The exact location where these 
remains were collected is unknown, and there is little information 
regarding the circumstances surrounding their removal. According to 
records at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, these remains 
were collected by Arthur Poeschel and then deposited at the museum in 
1955, where they are still housed today. These human remains represent 
a single individual consisting of a male aged 20-25 years. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 1960, partial sets of human remains representing, at minimum, 23 
individuals were removed from surface tundra burials at Point Barrow, 
AK (Accession Number 0967). The exact location where these remains were 
collected is unknown, and there is little information regarding the 
circumstances surrounding their removal. According to records at the 
University of Alaska Museum of the North, these remains were collected 
by Otto W. Geist and Marvin McNary and deposited at the museum in 1960, 
where they are still housed today. These human remains consist of 
cranial and post-cranial elements representing 23 individuals and 
include the following: One individual of an undetermined sex and age 
class, two males aged 35-45 years, one juvenile of an undetermined sex 
aged 12-15 years, one female aged 36-55 years, two females aged 30-50 
years, one female aged 50+ years, one juvenile of an undetermined sex 
aged 6-9 years, one male aged 36-55 years, two females aged 40-50 
years, one juvenile of an undetermined sex aged 3-5 years, two males 
aged 50+ years, one male aged 30-40 years, one female aged 20-40 years, 
one female aged 20-25 years, one male aged 25-35 years, one juvenile of 
an undetermined sex aged 7-12 years, two females aged 30-40 years, and 
one adult male of undetermined years. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In the 1950s or 1960s, partial sets of human remains representing, 
at minimum, two individuals accessioned as UA64-108(2) at the 
University of Alaska Museum of the North that were removed from tundra 
surface burials at Point Barrow, AK. The exact location where these 
remains were collected is unknown, and there is little information 
regarding the circumstances surrounding their removal. Based on catalog 
records at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, one of these 
individuals was collected by William Irving in 1952 and likely belongs 
with accession UA64-108(1), although it is impossible to say for sure 
due to a lack of detailed information. The second individual in this 
accession was collected by Otto W. Geist and Kevin Cameron in an 
unknown year. Both of these individuals were deposited at the museum 
sometime during or prior to 1964, where they are still housed today. 
These human remains represent two individuals consisting of one male 
aged 18-20 years

[[Page 68469]]

and one male aged 25-35 years. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1980, a partial set of human remains representing, at minimum, 
one individual were removed from Point Barrow, AK (Accession Number 
UA83-051). These remains were collected from a water filled depression 
several feet deep near the airport runway and Pisokak Street by two 
boys who were residents of Barrow. The collected remains were 
subsequently turned over to Linda Yarborough who was leading an 
archaeological project in the village at the time of their discovery. 
The area where these remains were recovered appeared to have been 
disturbed and there were several other bones (presumed human) visible 
at the bottom of the small pool, and these were left in place. The 
exact location where these remains were collected is described as 
between lot 11, block 35 south of Pisokak Street and the airport runway 
located several hundred feet south of and parallel to Pisokak Street. 
According to records at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, 
these remains were deposited in the museum by Linda Yarborough in 1983, 
where they are still housed today. No other information is available 
regarding the circumstances surrounding the removal of these remains. 
These human remains represent a single individual consisting of one 
male aged 35-45 years. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Concerning all of the 39 partial sets of human remains just 
described, there is not enough information present in museum records to 
confidently assign any of these remains to a specific archeological 
site. None of these remains were removed under federal permits. For all 
of these remains except the set accessioned as UA83-051, the only 
provenience information available states that the remains were surface 
collected near, in, or at the Native Village of Barrow. A common pre-
contact and contact era burial practice in the region of Barrow, AK, 
was to lay the deceased out either directly on the surface or enclosed 
in a box on the surface. Based on the museum records that accompany all 
of these remains, they were collected from a surficial burial context 
which would make them of a recent age. It is determined that these 
remains are Native American based on the general geographic location 
(Barrow, AK), the condition of the remains, and their morphology. 
Barrow, AK is the largest city in the North Slope Borough and serves as 
an economic and administrative center for the region. Archeological 
studies and oral traditions show that there is at least a thousand 
years of continuity between present-day and past residents on the North 
Slope of Alaska. Due to this fact, all 39 sets of human remains 
described above are determined to be directly related to Native 
American tribal members residing in Barrow, AK today.

Determinations Made by the BLM Alaska State Office and the University 
of Alaska Museum of the North

    Officials of the BLM Alaska State Office and the University of 
Alaska Museum of the North have determined that:
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 39 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
    <bullet> 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 Native Village of Barrow Inupiat 
Traditional Government.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe not 
identified in this notice that wishes to request transfer of control of 
these human remains should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Dr. Robert King, Alaska State NAGPRA 
Coordinator, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W. 7th Ave., Box 13, 
Anchorage, AK 99513-7599, telephone (907) 271-5510, by December 17, 
2014. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains to the Native Village of 
Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government may proceed.
    The BLM Alaska State Office is responsible for notifying the Native 
Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: October 2, 2014
Melanie O'Brien,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2014-27151 Filed 11-14-14; 8:45 am]
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