skip
general nav links
About ACHP
ACHP News
National Historic
Preservation
Program
Working with
Section 106
Federal, State, & Tribal Programs
Training & Education
Publications
Search |
|
skip specific nav links
Home
Working with Section 106 ACHP
Case Digest Fall
2004 South
Dakota: Widening of Route 4, Crow Creek Reservation, Buffalo County
South
Dakota: Widening of Route 4, Crow Creek Reservation, Buffalo County
Agency: Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of
Indian Affairs proposes to reconstruct an eight-mile section of
a highway that runs through the Crow Creek Reservation in South
Dakota. Ten archeological sites might be affected by the construction;
several of the sites are associated with a previously identified
archeological district and a National Historic Landmark.
Reports indicate
that the agencys archeological investigation turned up numerous
skeletal remains that may be ancestors of the Three Affiliated Tribes,
comprised of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Indians.
At the request
of the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Officer, the ACHP
is investigating whether BIA violated Section 106.
|
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is planning to reconstruct an eight-mile
section of Route 4 within the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota.
In 1997, the agency notified the South Dakota State Historic Preservation
Officer (SHPO) of its construction plan and the expectation that historic
sites would be affected by the construction.
Crow Creek National Historic Landmark, Buffalo County, South Dakota (photo: NPS)
Earlier this year, however, BIA submitted an archeological data recovery
report to the SHPO with a finding of no historic properties affected.
Absent intervening consultation, the SHPO requested that the ACHP investigate
this matter.
Archeological investigation identified 10 archeological sites within
the vicinity of the construction project. Several of these sites are associated
with a previously identified archeological district and a National Historic
Landmark. It is unclear what the sites precise affiliation is, if
any, with these properties.
BIA carried out archaeological data recovery at three sites before it
resolved National Register-eligibility issues, reached a finding of either
adverse effect or no adverse effect on historic
properties, or consulted to develop mitigation measures with the State
Historic Preservation Officer, the ACHP, or other consulting parties.
In addition, outside reports say that the sites archeological investigation
exposed hundreds of skeletal remains in storage pits at three Plains Village
occupations. It is suspected that the three sites date to early contact
between members of the Three Affiliated Tribes and European Americans,
and may represent the decimation of the local population from an introduced
disease such as smallpox.
BIA reports that it consulted with the Crow Creek and Three Affiliated
Tribes about appropriate procedures to remove and reinter the human remains.
The person who BIA identifies as its Three Affiliated Tribes contact in
this matter denies any contact, approval, or knowledge of the agencys
actions.
Meanwhile, the ACHP is reviewing the case as a possible foreclosure of
its opportunity to comment on the projects effects on historic properties,
as outlined in the Section 106 process.
Staff contact: Alan
Stanfill
Posted December 17, 2004
Return to Top |