Notice2023-27802
Notice of Inventory Completion: Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
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
December 19, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma (SNOMNH) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from LeFlore County, OK.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87803-87804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27802]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037096; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of
Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
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 Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural
History, University of Oklahoma (SNOMNH) has completed an inventory of
human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that
there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and
associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary
objects were removed from LeFlore County, OK.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 18, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Dr. Marc Levine, Associate Curator of Archeology, Sam Noble
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, 2401
Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, telephone (405) 325-1994,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dab7b6bfacb3b4bf9ab5aff4bfbeaf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d6061687b6463684d627823686978">[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
SNOMNH. 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 SNOMNH.
Description
In 1941, human remains representing, at minimum, 94 individuals
were removed from the Hooks site (34Lf19) in LeFlore County, OK.
Located southwest of Fanshawe, OK, the site was excavated by the Works
Progress Administration
[[Page 87804]]
(WPA) in 1941, and the associated finds were transferred to the SNOMNH
(formerly known as the Stovall Museum of Science and History) that same
year. The human remains and associated funerary objects from site
34Lf19 were interred during the Woodland Period (300 BC-A.D. 900). The
human remains consist of, at minimum, 47 adult males, 15 adult females,
15 adults of indeterminate sex, and 17 children ranging in age from
fetal to adolescent. The 174 associated funerary objects are one
undecorated ceramic pot, one decorated potsherd, 10 undecorated
potsherds, three stone knives, one Gary type projectile point, 50
projectile points, one scraper, one flake, five bone awls, three bone
pins, one bone awl tip, one horn atlatl, five modified animal bones, 58
unmodified animal bones, 21 shell beads, one shell gorget, one modified
shell, four stone double bit axes, one stone gorget, one stone gorget
fragment, three groundstone fragments, and one paint stone.
In 1938, 1939, and 1969, human remains representing, at minimum,
154 individuals were removed from the Moore site (34Lf31) in LeFlore
County, OK. The site is located approximately two miles north of the
town of Spiro, OK, and within the floodplain of the Arkansas River. The
Moore site was initially discovered--and severely disturbed--by a
railroad that cut through the site in 1885. The site was later impacted
by extensive farming activities and looting. The 1938 and 1939
excavations were carried out by the WPA, while the University of
Oklahoma conducted additional salvage excavations in 1969. The
associated finds were transferred to the SNOMNH following each
excavation season. The human remains and funerary objects from site
34Lf31 were interred during the Fort Coffee phase (A.D. 1450-1650). The
human remains consist of, at minimum, 34 adult females, 44 adult males,
28 adults of indeterminate sex, 40 children, and eight infants. The 315
associated funerary objects are: one ceramic pipe, one bag of charcoal
from the aforementioned pipe, 42 undecorated ceramic vessels, 18
decorated ceramic vessels, one reconstructible decorated ceramic
vessel, one undecorated partial vessel, 11 reconstructible undecorated
ceramic vessels, 46 undecorated potsherds, three decorated potsherds,
four bags of undecorated potsherds, 21 turquoise beads, one sandstone
elbow pipe, 74 stone projectile points, 12 stone drills, one stone
knife, one stone hoe, one unidentified stone tool, four stone tool
fragments, 14 stone flakes, one bag of stone flakes, one modified
stone, three red ochre fragments, seven pieces of quartz, six
unmodified stones, eight faunal bone tools, four turtle shells, eight
faunal jawbones, one modified fish bone, six faunal bones, five bags of
faunal bones, three shell beads, two shells, two shell fragments, and
one bag of shells.
In 1941, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals
were removed from the Geren site (34Lf36) in LeFlore County, OK.
Located about one mile southwest of Spiro Mounds, this site was
excavated by the WPA in 1941 and the associated finds were transferred
to the SNOMNH that same year. The human remains and associated funerary
objects from site 34Lf36 were interred during the Mississippian Period,
and more specifically, during the local Spiro (A.D. 1350-1450) and Fort
Coffee phases (A.D. 1450-1650). The human remains include one adult
male, 35-50 years old, and one adult, older than 20 years, of
indeterminate sex. The two associated funerary objects are one Fresno
type projectile point and one side-notched Reed type projectile point.
Cultural Affiliation
The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes,
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity
between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the
relationship: anthropological information, archeological information,
geographical information, and historical information, as well as
information provided through tribal consultation.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the SNOMNH has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 250 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 491 objects described in this notice 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.
<bullet> There is a relationship of shared group identity that can
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary
objects described in this notice and the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and
the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie),
Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation
may be submitted by:
1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations 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.
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 18, 2024.
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the SNOMNH must
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation.
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing
requests. The SNOMNH is responsible for sending a copy of this notice
to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 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, 10.10,
and 10.14.
Dated: December 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-27802 Filed 12-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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