FR Doc E7-16782
[Federal Register: August 24, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 164)]
[Notices]
[Page 48669-48670]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24au07-97]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological
Repository, Kodiak, AK
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
Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository, Kodiak, AK. The human
remains were removed from Long Island in the Kodiak Island archipelago,
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.
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Alutiiq
Museum and Archaeological Repository professional staff in consultation
with representatives of the Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village
(aka Woody Island); Natives of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak
(formerly the Shoonaq' Tribe of Kodiak).
In May 1991, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from most likely the beach or from the eroding bank of 49-
KOD-00023, Vera Bay on Long Island, AK, by Father Peter Kreta, a
Russian Orthodox Priest. Father Kreta took the human remains to
archeologist Dr. Richard Knecht at the Kodiak Area Native Association's
Alutiiq Center where they were stored until 1995. In 1995, the human
remains were transferred to the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological
Repository where they are currently stored (accession number AM60). No
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects were
present.
Humic staining on the cranium indicates that the human remains were
once buried. Long Island lies in Chiniak Bay in the northeastern Kodiak
archipelago of Alaska and within the traditional territory of the
Kodiak Alutiiq people. The human remains are reasonably believed to be
associated with 49-KOD-00023, a known prehistoric site. Artifact finds
from the site indicate that it dates to the Late Kachemak phase of the
Kachemak tradition, somewhere between 2,700 and 800 years old.
Archeological surveys of this site indicate that it contains two areas
of midden deposits - one of which rests directly behind the modern
beach. This section of the site has been potted heavily and is eroding
thereby scattering materials onto the beach. Archeologists believe that
the people of the Late Kachemak tradition are ancestors of modern day
Alutiiqs. Archeological data collected over the past 20 years indicates
that Late Kachemak phase societies evolved into the more complexly
organized societies of the Koniag tradition observed at historic
contact in the late 18th century. As such, the human remains are
reasonably believed to be Native American and most closely affiliated
with the contemporary Native residents of the Kodiak archipelago, the
Kodiak Alutiiq. Specifically, the human remains are from an area
traditionally used by members of Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi
Village; Natives of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak.
In 1993, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from Long Island, AK, by Barb Zickuhr. In February 1995,
the human remains were turned over to the Alaska State Troopers. After
completion of an investigation, the Alaska State Troopers transferred
human remains to Dr. Richard Knecht at the Kodiak Area Native
Association's Alutiiq Culture Center. In April of 1995, the human
remains were transferred to the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological
Repository where they are currently stored (accession number AM58). No
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Long Island lies in Chiniak Bay in the northeastern Kodiak
archipelago within the traditional territory of the Kodiak Alutiiq
people. The human remains are humic stained with heavily worn teeth and
no evidence of modern dentistry, characteristics common to early
historic and prehistoric times. Archeological sites on Long Island
contain deposits spanning Kodiak's prehistoric and historic eras. Most
archeologists believe that the region's cultural sequence represents a
period of evolutionary growth with the earliest colonizers evolving
into the Alutiiq societies recorded at historic contact over a 7,500
year period. As such, the human remains are reasonably believed to be
from a prehistoric Alutiiq person and most closely affiliated with the
contemporary Native residents of the Kodiak archipelago, the Kodiak
Alutiiq. Specifically, the human remains were recovered from an area
traditionally
[[Page 48670]]
used by members of Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village; Natives
of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak.
Officials of the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains
described above represent the physical remains of at least two
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Alutiiq
Museum and Archaeological Repository 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 Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village;
Natives of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Dr. Sven
Haakanson, Jr., Executive Director, Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological
Repository, 215 Mission Rd., Suite 101, Kodiak, AK 99615, telephone
(907) 486-7004, before September 24, 2007. Repatriation of the human
remains to the Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village; Natives of
Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak may proceed after that date if
no additional claimants come forward.
The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository is responsible for
notifying the Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village; Natives of
Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak that this notice has been
published.
Dated: August 6, 2007.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E7-16782 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
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