[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32181-32182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16014]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: New York University College of 
Dentistry, New York City, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    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 
New York University College of Dentistry, New York City, NY. The human 
remains were removed from Crab Creek Coulee, Grant 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 New York 
University College of Dentistry professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, 
Washington; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, 
Washington; and Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian group.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from an unknown site on the Crab Creek Coulee, 
Grant County, WA, by Harlan Smith. At an unknown date, the human 
remains were acquired by C.B. Moore. In 1917, Mr. Moore donated the 
human remains to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. In 
1956, the human remains were transferred to Dr. Theodore Kazamiroff, 
New York University College of Dentistry. No

[[Page 32182]]

known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    The Museum of the American Indian records list the locality of 
origin as Crab Creek Coulee, WA. The morphology of the human remains is 
consistent with Native American ancestry. The condition of the human 
remains suggests that they were removed from a Historic Period burial 
that probably dated to the 1800s.
    Tribal representatives identified Crab Creek, Grant County, WA, as 
part of the ancestral territory of both the Wanapum and Sinkayuse. 
Historic records from the early 19th century document Wanapum and 
Sinkayuse villages in Grant County. The northern boundary of the 
Wanapum extended to Crab Creek, while the southern edge of the 
Sinkayuse territory extended to Crab Creek. The extremities of the 
territories were defined by diffuse boundaries, and boundaries shifted 
according to who lived in or utilized land along the creek. At the 
time, the people living in the region did not organize themselves 
according to a tribe in the modern-day sense. Organization was along 
family, clan, and village lines. Trading and intermarriage were common 
between villages and groups.
    During the 19th century, some Wanapum became part of the 
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation, Washington, while 
others remained part of the state-recognized Wanapum Band that stayed 
in their ancestral territory. The Sinkayuse relocated among the 
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington. Today, all 
three groups maintain close relations and coordinate repatriations for 
human remains from Grant County.
    Officials of New York University College of Dentistry have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of New York University College of 
Dentistry 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 Confederated 
Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes and 
Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington; and the Wanapum Band, a non-
Federally recognized Indian group.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Dr. 
Louis Terracio, New York University College of Dentistry, 345 East 24th 
St., New York, NY 10010, telephone (212) 998-9917, before August 6, 
2009. Repatriation of the human remains to the Confederated Tribes of 
the Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes and Bands of 
the Yakama Nation, Washington; and the Wanapum Band, a non-Federally 
recognized Indian group, may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The New York University College of Dentistry is responsible for 
notifying the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, 
Washington; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, 
Washington; and Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian group, 
that this notice has been published.

    Dated: June 15, 2009
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-16014 Filed 7-6-09; 8:45 am]
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