FR Doc E6-16923
[Federal Register: October 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 197)]
[Notices]
[Page 60191-60192]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12oc06-84]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Energy,
Richland Operations Office, Richland, WA and Thomas Burke Memorial
Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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 and associated funerary
objects in the control of the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland
Operations Office, Richland, WA, and in the physical custody of the
Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke Museum),
University of Washington, Seattle, WA. The human remains and associated
funerary objects were removed from Benton 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 and associated funerary objects. The
[[Page 60192]]
National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this
notice.
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the
Department of Energy and the Burke Museum professional staff in
consultation with representatives of the Confederated Tribes and Bands
of the Yakama Nation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Reservation, Oregon; and the Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized
Indian group.
In 1981, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from an area within the Hanford site, Benton County, WA,
by John A. Hedron. In 1985, the museum received the human remains and
cultural items from Dr. Robert Rushmer on behalf of Mr. Hedron, and
they were accessioned by the museum that same year (Burke Accn.
1985-106). No known individual was identified. The seven
associated funerary objects are 1 piece of copper ore, 1 chopper, 1
flaked stone tool, 1 core, 1 flake, and 2 mussel shell fragments.
Museum documentation indicates that the associated funerary objects
were recovered with fragmentary human remains, and the types of
cultural items are consistent with other Native American funerary
objects found in the Columbia River area. The human remains consist of
nine fragments. The human remains were determined to be Native American
based on the associated artifacts and geographic location. Ethnographic
documentation indicates that the present day location of Hanford, WA,
is located within an overlapping aboriginal territory of descendants of
the Yakama, Walla Walla, and Wanapum groups, which are represented
today by the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation,
Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon;
and the Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized Indian group.
The Yakama Treaty, signed on June 9, 1855, included the Hanford
area in the aboriginal territory of the present-day Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington. The Walla Walla people have
also occupied this area since before historic times. As per the Treaty
of Walla Walla, signed on June 9, 1855, the Walla Walla people are
represented by the present-day Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Reservation, Oregon. The Wanapum Band occupied the Hanford area, which
is now designated the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site, as
recently as World War II, when they moved to the Priest Rapids area.
Officials of the Department of Energy and the Burke Museum 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 the Department of Energy and the
Burke Museum also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001
(3)(A), the seven objects described above 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. Lastly, officials
of the Department of Energy and the Burke Museum 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 associated funerary objects and the Confederated
Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington, and Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon. Furthermore, officials of
the Department of Energy and the Burke Museum have determined that
there is a cultural relationship between the human remains and
associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary
objects should contact Annabelle Rodriguez, U.S. Department of Energy,
Cultural/Historic Resources Program, Richland Operations Office, 825
Jadwin Avenue, MSIN A5-15 Richland, WA 99352, (509) 372-0277, before
November 13, 2006. Repatriation of the human remains and associated
funerary objects to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Reservation, Oregon, and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama
Nation, Washington, for themselves and on behalf of the Wanapum Band, a
non-federally recognized Indian group, may proceed after that date if
no additional claimants come forward. The Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the
Yakama Nation, Washington; and Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized
Indian group, are claiming jointly all cultural items from the Hanford
area.
The Department of Energy is responsible for notifying the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon; 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: September 25, 2006
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E6-16923 Filed 10-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S
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