FR Doc 05-15317
[Federal Register: August 3, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 148)]
[Notices]
[Page 44688-44689]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au05-199]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Ajo, AZ
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
U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Organ Pipe
Cactus National Monument, Ajo, AZ. The human remains were removed from
a vandalized cremation burial near Dripping Spring in the Puerto Blanco
Mountains, Pima County, AZ.
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 within this notice are the sole responsibility of
the superintendent, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Organ Pipe
Cactus National Monument professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River
Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona;
Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni
Reservation, New Mexico. The Ak-Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa
(Ak-Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona was represented by members of the
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation,
Arizona.
In 1967, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from a site in Pima County, AZ. A National Park Service
employee collected burned and fragmented human remains from a
vandalized cremation burial near Dripping Springs in the Puerto Blanco
Mountains of Arizona. The fragments were recovered from the surface of
a pit-like depression at the base of a natural wall-like outcrop on a
ridge top. Since collection, the human remains have always been in
National Park Service control. No known individual was identified. No
associated funerary objects are present.
The cremation represents an adult of unknown sex. Based on the
burial type and location, as well as available archeological and
historical information, it is likely that the remains are Native
American. Cremations are characteristic of prehistoric Hohokam funerary
practices in this region. During consultation, representatives from the
above mentioned tribes stated that their oral traditions say they are
culturally affiliated with the Hohokam. The ethnographic,
archeological, and historical evidence supports their claim of cultural
affiliation.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is located in the western
Papagueria of the Sonora Desert Subsection of the Basin and Range
Province. The Papagueria is an area that extended from west of Tucson,
AZ to the Colorado River and south of the Gila River to the Rocky Point
Region. It is further subdivided, based on archeology and climate, into
the eastern and western Papagueria. The western Papagueria is the most
arid portion of the Sonoran Desert and ranges from south of the Gila
River to Rocky Point and from the Ajo Mountains to the Colorado River.
The Akimel O'odham (Pima), Tohono O'odham and the Hia-Ced O'odham
claim to be the descendants of the Hohokam. Their oral history
documents the end time of the Hohokam, when armies from the south and
southeast gathered and marched on the Great House communities (Casa
Grande, Mesa Grande, Pueblo Grande) and cast out the priestly
societies. The armies intermarried with the Hohokam and became the
O'odham people. The Ak-Chin Indian Community is composed primarily of
Akimel and Tohono O'odham, and a few families of Hia-Ced O'odham. The
Gila River Indian Community and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community
are both composed of Akimel O'odham along with small populations of
Maricopa who moved from the central portion of the Gila River around
Gila Bend to join
[[Page 44689]]
Akimel O'odham population living along the Salt and Gila Rivers.
Oral history and the archeological record also support the claim by
the Zuni and Hopi that some clans originated in the Salt-Gila region
and were originally Hohokam.
Hopi history is based, in large part, in clan migration narratives.
The Hopi consider all of Arizona to be within traditional Hopi lands,
i.e. areas to which Hopi clans are believed to have migrated in the
past. Some Hopi clans trace their inception to a place believed to be
near the Valley of Mexico, other clans originated in Central and South
America, and others in what is now the eastern United States. Clans
that moved out of central Mexico migrated north and settled for a time
in the Gila and Salt River Valleys. Hopi cultural advisors have
indicated that the western Papagueria was one of many migration routes
used by the clans.
There is also a resemblance between Hopi ceremonies and those of
the O'odham, in particular the Tohono O'odham. Teague (1993:447-448)
has noted the similarities of the O'odham Wi'ikita ceremony and the
Hopi Wuwtsin (Ancient's Society) and on the connections with the
Paalolokangw (Plumed Water Serpent) and the Kwaakwant (Agave Society).
Underhill (1946) also drew clear links between the O'odham Wi'ikita
ceremony and Hopi and other pueblo ceremonies. According to Amadeo Rea
(1997) the Akimel O'odham (Pima) Navichu ceremony bears all the
earmarks of the Hopi katchine cult.
The claims of the Zuni Tribe, the A:shiwi People, are based on oral
history of ancestral migrations and settling throughout this region in
their search for the Middle Place of the World (present day Pueblo of
Zuni). A:shiwi elders have observed and identified features, including
shrines, and petroglyphs in the western Papagueria that are affiliated
with the A:shiwi. The A:shiwi trace their migration from the origin
point in the Grand Canyon. The ancestors embarked from this point and
left many markers of the passing. These include trails, habitation
sites, campsites, burials, sacred shrines, rock art, and other shrines
that mark specific events. Pilgrimage and trade routes to collect
shells and ocean water are known to pass through the Western
Papagueria.
Officials of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument have determined
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described
above represent the physical remains of at least one individual of
Native American ancestry. Officials of Organ Pipe Cactus National
Monument 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 Ak-Chin Indian
Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila
River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona;
Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the
Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Kathy
Billings, superintendent, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, 10 Organ
Pipe Drive, Ajo, AZ 85321, telephone (520) 387-6849, ext. 7500, before
September 2, 2005. Repatriation of the human remains to the Ak-Chin
Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona;
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation,
Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation
of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico may
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is responsible for notifying
the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation,
Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation
of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico that
this notice has been published.
Dated: June 29, 2005
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program
[FR Doc. 05-15317 Filed 8-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S
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