FR Doc E8-19314[Federal Register: August 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 49483]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21au08-67]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: Arkansas Highway and
Transportation Department, Little Rock, AR
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 possession of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation
Department, Little Rock, AR. The human remains and associated funerary
objects were removed from Poinsett County, AR.
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 the Arkansas
Highway and Transportation Department professional staff with
assistance from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, and in
consultation with representatives of the Quapaw Tribe of Indians,
Oklahoma.
In 1988, human remains representing a minimum of 15 individuals
were removed from the Priestly site (3PO490) in Poinsett County, AR, by
the Center for Archaeological Research, Southwest Missouri State
University, Springfield, MO. The human remains were sent to the
University of Missouri, Columbia for analysis and curation. The human
remains were transferred to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation in
June 2004. No known individuals were identified. The 46 associated
funerary objects are 2 Lander points, 1 Gary point, 42 plain shell-
tempered body sherds, and 1 plain shell-tempered sherd from the rim of
a bowl.
Archeological evidence indicates the human remains are Native
American and are considered to be from an Emergent Mississippian
culture. Judging from the context and radio-carbon dates obtained from
various features at the site, the main component at the site and the
human remains are thought to date between A.D. 750 to 1100.
Oral history evidence presented by representatives of the Quapaw
Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma indicates that the region has long been
included in the traditional and hunting territory of the Quapaw. French
colonial records from the 1700s also indicate that at that time, the
Quapaw were the only Native American group present in the St. Frances
River valley where the Priestly site is located. Based on geographical
location, historical documents, and oral history, the human remains are
most likely associated with the Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma.
Officials of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains
described above represent the physical remains of at least 15
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Arkansas
Highway and Transportation also have determined that, pursuant to 25
U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the 46 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 Arkansas Highway and Transportation 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 Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary
objects should contact Diana Wilks, Arkansas Highway and Transportation
Department, P.O. Box 2261, Little Rock, AR 72203, telephone (501) 569-
2038, before September 22, 2008. Repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects to the Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma
may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is responsible for
notifying the Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma that this notice has
been published.
Dated: July 28, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-19314 Filed 8-20-08; 8:45 am]
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