Notice2024-29951
Notice of Inventory Completion: Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, WA
Primary source
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Published
December 18, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology (WWU), 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 45-WH-10 and 45-WH-11, Birch Bay, Whatcom County, WA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 102941-102942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29951]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039221; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Western Washington University,
Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, WA
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 Western Washington University,
Department of Anthropology (WWU), 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 45-WH-10 and 45-WH-11, Birch Bay, Whatcom County, WA.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 17, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Dr. Judith Pine, Western Washington University, Department
of Anthropology, Arntzen Hall 340, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA
98225, telephone (360) 650-4783, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6010090e050a201717154e050415"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="87f7eee9e2edc7f0f0f2a9e2e3f2">[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
WWU, and additional information on the determinations in this notice,
including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or
related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
Human remains representing, at least, three individuals have been
identified. The 18 associated funerary objects are bone, stone and
antler tools, red ochre, dentalium, a whale rib, and a bone medallion.
Three separate projects completed over the course of 45 years
contributed to the 45-WH-10 and 45-WH-11 collections housed at WWU. In
1970-71, WWU field school students worked at both sites under the
direction of Dr. Garland Grabert. Brief notes indicate that surface
collection and a small-scale excavation occurred, but no report was
completed. The original 1995 WWU NAGPRA Inventory listed one human
premolar from 45-WH-10. This ancestral remain was repatriated to the
Lummi Nation in 2001, upon their request (Rollins, 2001 ``Inventory of
Remains in Preparation for Reinterment''). During the WWU 2018-2020
Repatriation and Rehousing Project described above, previously unknown
associated funerary objects were identified from 45-WH-10 by Lummi
Cultural Specialist R. Tom.
Three human burials were unearthed from 45-WH-11 during this work.
One was found in a test unit while the remains of two other individuals
were surface collected from a ditch. The three individuals from 1970-71
excavations were reported in the original 1995 WWU NAGPRA Inventory and
repatriated to the Lummi Nation upon their request in 2001.
In 1975, WWU signed a contract with Arcomm Construction Company,
Inc. of Seattle to conduct ``salvage archaeology'' during the
development of the Birch Bay sewage treatment facility. Jeannette
Gaston and Garland Grabert (WWU) led the project. Most of the work
consisted of monitoring and salvage archaeology during construction
activities throughout the summer of 1975. During this project, twenty-
six test cuts were excavated within the pipeline right-of-way (Gaston
and Grabert,1975) within the boundaries of 45-WH-11. Human remains were
also encountered during this project and reported in the original 1995
WWU NAGPRA Inventory. All of the known human remains from the 1970-71
and 1975 projects were repatriated to the Lummi Nation in 2001, upon
their request.
The third project, completed between May and August of 2015 by
Drayton Archaeology (DA), consisted of data recovery excavations,
construction monitoring and mitigation data recovery under Department
of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) archaeological site
excavation and
[[Page 102942]]
disturbance permit #2015-06 at 45-WH-11. During this work, several
units were excavated for data collection purposes.
During the WWU 2018-2020 Repatriation and Rehousing Project
described above, additional ancestral remains were found in the
``faunal'' bags from 1970-71, Test Cut 2. These newly identified
remains were reported in a revised inventory and in published federal
notice N5472. Subsequent work in the collections and consultation
between WWU and the Lummi Nation has resulted in the identification of
additional human remains and associated funerary objects from 45-WH-11.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in
this notice.
Determinations
The WWU has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 18 objects described in this notice are reasonably
believed to have been placed intentionally 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 connection between the human remains and
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Lummi
Tribe of the Lummi Reservation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
authorized representative identified in this notice under 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with
cultural affiliation.
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January
17, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the WWU
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 WWU 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 10.10.
Dated: December 11, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-29951 Filed 12-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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