Notice2023-19599
Notice of Inventory Completion: Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX
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
September 12, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Witte Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Val Verde County, TX.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62595-62596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19599]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036523; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Witte Museum has completed an inventory
of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined
that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and
associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization. The human remains and associated funerary objects were
removed from Val Verde County, TX.
DATES: Re-interment of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 12, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Jennifer Barron, Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway Street, San
Antonio, TX 78209, telephone (210) 357-1900, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cda7a8a3a3a4aba8bfafacbfbfa2a38dbaa4b9b9a8a0b8bea8b8a0e3a2bfaa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="18727d7676717e7d6a7a796a6a7776586f716c6c7d756d6b7d6d7536776a7f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA.
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
Witte Museum. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice. Additional information on the
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation,
can be found in the inventory or related records held by the Witte
Museum.
Description
From 1931 to 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, 25
individuals were recovered during multiple excavations, some organized
by the Southwest Texas Archaeological Society and/or the Witte Museum
from sites that include Shumla Caves 1-8, Eagle Cave, Jacal Canyon, and
Zubermiller Cave in Val Verde County, TX. These human remains belong to
six adult males, three adult females, one juvenile, seven infants, and
eight individuals of indeterminate age and/or sex. They date to the
Archaic period. The one associated funerary object is one lot
consisting of ``shaman's kit.''
In the 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual were collected by George Nalle II during an excavation in
the Lower Pecos Canyonlands in Val Verde County, TX. In 2018, these
human remains were given to the Witte Museum. They date to the Archaic
period. No associated funerary objects are present.
Sometime prior to 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual were collected from the Fate Bell Shelter in Val Verde
County, TX. These human remains date to the Archaic period. No
associated funerary objects are present.
Sometime prior to 1969, human remains representing, at minimum,
five individuals were collected by Richard and Ben McReynolds from
sites in Val Verde Canyon in Val Verde County, TX, including a shelter
in Deadman's Canyon. In 2019, these human remains were given to the
Witte Museum. They date to the Archaic period. No associated funerary
objects are present.
[[Page 62596]]
Aboriginal Land
The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice
were removed from known geographic locations. These locations are the
aboriginal lands of one or more Indian Tribes. The following
information was used to identify the aboriginal land: treaties, Acts of
Congress, and Executive Orders.
The Witte Museum consulted with all Indian Tribes who are
aboriginal to the area from which these human remains and associated
funerary objects were removed. None of these Indian Tribes agreed to
accept control of the human remains and associated funerary objects.
The Witte Museum requested that the Secretary, through the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review
Committee), consider a proposal for the re-interment according to State
or other law of the human remains and associated funerary objects in
this notice. The Review Committee carefully considered the request at
its June 2023 meeting and recommended to the Secretary that the
proposed re-interment proceed. A July 2023 letter transmitted the
Secretary's independent review and concurrence with the Review
Committee that:
<bullet> the Witte Museum consulted with the appropriate Indian
Tribes,
<bullet> none of the Indian Tribes agreed to accept control,
<bullet> none of the Indian Tribes objected to the proposed re-
interment, and
<bullet> the Witte Museum may proceed with the proposed re-
interment of the human remains and associated funerary objects as
identified in the Determinations section.
Re-interment is contingent on the publication of a Notice of
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that
requirement.
Determinations Made by the Witte Museum
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the Indian Tribes identified in this notice, the
Witte Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice are Native
American based on their precontact, Archaic period date.
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 32 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The one object described in this notice is 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.
<bullet> No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably
traced between the Native American human remains and associated
funerary objects and any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> The human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the
Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero
Reservation, New Mexico; and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
<bullet> The human remains and associated funerary objects will be
re-interred according to the law of Val Verde County, TX.
Requests for Disposition
Written requests for disposition of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for disposition
may be submitted by:
1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.
2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land
Indian Tribe.
Re-interment of the human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice may occur on or after October 12, 2023. If
requests for disposition are received, the Witte Museum must determine
the most appropriate requestor prior to disposition or re-interment.
Requests for joint disposition of the human remains and associated
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing
requests. The Witte Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this
notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9 and Sec.
10.11.
Dated: August 30, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-19599 Filed 9-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 12, 2023.
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