Notice2022-10645
Notice of Inventory Completion: Indiana State Museum and Historic Site Corporation, State of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 18, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Corporation (ISMHS) has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a written request to ISMHS. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 96 (Wednesday, May 18, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30261-30263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10645]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033920; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Indiana State Museum and Historic
Site Corporation, State of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Corporation
(ISMHS) has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation
with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations,
and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the
human remains and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian
Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice
that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains should
submit a written request to ISMHS. If no additional requestors come
forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal
descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in
this notice may proceed.
DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a
written request with information in support of the request to ISMHS at
the address in this notice by June 17, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Greenan, Indiana State Museum
and Historic Sites Corporation, 650 West Washington Street,
Indianapolis, IN 46214, telephone (317) 473-0836, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c212b3e2929222d220c252228252d222d21393f29392162233e2b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cba6acb9aeaea5aaa58ba2a5afa2aaa5aaa6beb8aebea6e5a4b9ac">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 under
the control of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Corporation,
Indianapolis, IN. The human remains were removed from Harrison County,
Floyd County, and Spencer County, IN.
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.
Consultation
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by ISMHS
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Delaware Nation,
Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma;
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; and the
Shawnee Tribe (hereafter referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes'').
History and Description of the Remains
In February of 1992, following a report of looting, human remains
representing, at a minimum, one individual were collected by staff of
the Indiana Department of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA)
from an area identified as being part of
[[Page 30262]]
the Overflow Pond Site (12Hr12), in Harrison County, IN (DHPA
accidental discovery #920001). In 2018, these human remains were re-
discovered during an intensive inventory of collections housed at DHPA.
The labels on the bag indicating site #12Hr12 and ``east hole'' likely
reference a looter's pit. No other documentation for these human
remains has been located. Following this re-discovery, DHPA research
staff completed an inventory and transferred the human remains to ISMHS
in May 2018. The human remains, consisting of only one bone (a prox.
left 5th metatarsal), render age, sex, or possible pathology
impossible. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary
objects are present.
More recent work at 12Hr12 has identified it as an occupation site
whose primary occupations occurred during the late Middle Archaic and
Late Archaic periods (roughly 5000-1000 B.C.). The presence of
extensive shell midden deposits and artifact assemblages, which include
diagnostic point types and engraved bone pin fragments, point toward
heavy use of the site during this time. Based on the archeological
information from 12Hr12, the human remains of this individual belong
within those Archaic occupations.
Archeological and historical information shows that the present-day
Shawnee and their ancestral groups have a long history in Southern
Indiana and the Ohio River Valley. Archeological information evidences
a strong relationship between these Shawnee ancestral groups and
Mississippian communities known as Fort Ancient, while historical
information from the 17th through 19th centuries indicate intense
Shawnee settlement along the Ohio River Valley throughout Ohio and
Indiana. Based on this information, a relationship of shared group
identify can be reasonably traced between the Native American group to
which these human remains belonged and the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of
Indians of Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; and the Shawnee
Tribe (hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').
Sometime prior to March 24, 2012, human remains representing, at
minimum, one individual were removed from an area along the Ohio River
bordering Harrison and Floyd Counties, IN. On March 24, 2012, Indiana
Conservation officers approached a man who was seen kneeling along the
shoreline of the Ohio River. He had with him a kneeling pad, a trowel,
and a duffle bag. Caesar's Riverboat Casino, who owned the land where
this incident occurred, told the officers that it had not granted the
man permission to dig on the land. Following further discussions, the
man consented to a search of his apartment. There, the officers located
small bags and boxes containing pieces of stone, bone, and antler, as
well as a small wooden box containing a note that indicated human
remains might be present among the bones. The case was assigned
Incident Report # INV-12-00076. While the localities where the above
materials were removed cannot be determined with exactitude, interviews
with the suspect revealed that the provenience of the human remains is
an area along the Ohio River around the Harrison County/Floyd County
border.
On June 18, 2012, Indiana Conservation officers took the human
remains to the University of Indianapolis for assessment and to
determine ancestry. University of Indianapolis researchers determined
that four of the bone fragments were indeed human, and that most likely
they were Native American. One of the bone fragments is a distal right
humerus and the other three comprise a single proximal right femur. The
bones were identified as belonging to an adult, but no determination of
sex or possible pathology could be made. No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. On December 12,
2013, the human remains were transferred to ISMHS.
On December 13, 1999, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual were removed from an area that is most likely part of the
Kramer site (12Sp7) in Spencer County, IN. The human remains were
collected on-site by staff from the Indiana Department of Historic
Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA) and the Division of Forestry (DHPA
accidental discovery #200012). In 2017-2018, these human remains were
re-discovered during an intensive inventory of collections housed at
DHPA. The label on the bag identified their provenience as 12SP7 and
that they came from the northeast side of a ``grassy mound.'' Following
their re-discovery, DHPA research staff completed an inventory of these
human remains and in May of 2018, transferred them to ISMHS. Three bone
fragments are present--a right humerus fragment and two clavicle
fragments (right and left sides). Given the fragmentary nature of the
human remains, sex and age could not be determined. No known individual
was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
Site 12SP7 is known as Kramer or Kramer Mound, a known shell-midden
site--``mound'' references shell deposits--that has been subject to
heavy looting in the past. Archeologically, the primary occupation of
Kramer Mound spanned the later part of the Middle Archaic period
through the Late/Terminal Archaic periods (roughly 5000-1000 B.C.),
based on the presence of dense shell-middens combined with artifact
types, including bone pins and concentrations of diagnostic points.
This timeframe is further corroborated by two calibrated Carbon-14
dates of 4220 B.C. and 3760 B.C. Accordingly, the human remains from
12SP7 most likely belong to these Late-Middle Archaic through Late-
Terminal Archaic occupations.
Archeological and historical information shows that the present-day
Shawnee and their ancestral groups have a long history in Southern
Indiana and the Ohio River Valley. Archeological information evidences
a strong relationship between these Shawnee ancestral groups and
Mississippian communities known as Fort Ancient, while historical
information from the 17th through 19th centuries indicate intense
Shawnee settlement along the Ohio River Valley throughout Ohio and
Indiana. Based on this information, a relationship of shared group
identify can be reasonably traced between the Native American group to
which these human remains belonged and The Tribes.
Determinations Made by the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites
Corporation
Officials of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites
Corporation have determined that:
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of
Native American ancestry.
<bullet> 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 Tribes.
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a
written request with information in support of the request to Michele
Greenan, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Corporation, 650 West
Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46214, telephone (317) 473-0836,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1578726770707b747b557c7b717c747b747860667060783b7a6772"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4a272d382f2f242b240a23242e232b242b273f392f3f276425382d">[email protected]</span></a>, by June 17, 2022. After that date, if
no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the
[[Page 30263]]
human remains to The Tribes may proceed.
The Indiana State Museum and History Sites Corporation is
responsible for notifying The Consulted Tribes that this notice has
been published.
Dated: May 10, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-10645 Filed 5-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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