Notice2025-01184
Notice of Intended Disposition: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, Tulsa, OK
Primary source
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Published
January 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District (USACE Tulsa) intends to carry out the disposition of human remains and associated funerary objects removed from Federal or Tribal lands to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization with priority for disposition in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6001-6002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01184]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039348; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Disposition: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Tulsa District, Tulsa, 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa
District (USACE Tulsa) intends to carry out the disposition of human
remains and associated funerary objects removed from Federal or Tribal
lands to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization with priority for disposition in this notice.
DATES: Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice may occur on or after February 18, 2025. If no claim for
disposition is received by January 20, 2026, the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice will become unclaimed human
remains and associated funerary objects.
ADDRESSES: Jacqueline Rodgers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa
District, 2488 East 81st Street, Tulsa, OK 74137, telephone (918) 669-
4964, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#660c07051713030a0f080348140902010314152613150705034807140b1f480b0f0a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f993989a888c9c9590979cd78b969d9e9c8b8ab98c8a989a9cd7988b9480d7949095">[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
USACE Tulsa, and additional information on the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice, including the results of
consultation, can be found in the related records. The National Park
Service is not responsible for the identifications in this notice.
[[Page 6002]]
Abstract of Information Available
Based on the information available, human remains representing, at
least, eight individuals have been reasonably identified. The, at
least, 10 associated funerary objects are one pocketknife, one .22
caliber bullet, one brooch, and seven lots of coffin hardware and
coffin fill. In the 1840s, The Chickasaw Nation citizens founded the
community of Willis along the Red River in what became Marshall County,
Oklahoma. A city cemetery was established that was estimated to hold
500 graves, many of which were unmarked. Between December 1942 and
March 1943, USACE Tulsa contracted a company to relocate Willis
Cemetery prior to the inundation of Lake Texoma. Due to the age of the
cemetery at the time and the loss of original grave markers, several
internments were missed during the relocation effort. Over time,
multiple inadvertent discoveries of human remains have occurred eroding
from the shoreline of Lake Texoma from the original Willis Cemetery
location. Site 34MA86, previously recorded as a precontact artifact
scatter, was updated to a multicomponent site to include the Willis
Cemetery. The remains of at least eight individuals with funerary
objects have been recovered over time. In February 1998 two adults and
one child were recovered with three lots of coffin hardware with the
assistance of a representative from Chickasaw Nation. In 2001 the
remains of one child and one young adult male with funerary objects
including two lots of coffin hardware and fill, one pocket knife, and
one .22 caliber bullet were recovered. In 2008 the remains of one young
adult female with no associated funerary objects were recovered by law
enforcement, determined to be not of forensic interest, and remitted to
the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey (OAS). In August 2016 OAS was
informed of an inadvertent discovery, and in conjunction with USACE
Tulsa exhumed two individuals and funerary objects including two lots
of coffin hardware and fill, and one brooch. Currently all eight
individuals and all funerary objects are located at the Tulsa District
Archaeological Repository.
Determinations
The USACE Tulsa has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The at least 10 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> The Chickasaw Nation has priority for disposition of the
human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.
Claims for Disposition
Written claims for disposition of the human remains and associated
funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the appropriate
official identified in this notice under ADDRESSES. If no claim for
disposition is received by January 20, 2026, the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice will become unclaimed human
remains and associated funerary objects. Claims for disposition may be
submitted by:
1. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization 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 they have priority for disposition.
Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects in
this notice may occur on or after February 18, 2025. If competing
claims for disposition are received, the USACE Tulsa must determine the
most appropriate claimant prior to disposition. Requests for joint
disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects are
considered a single request and not competing requests. The USACE Tulsa
is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the lineal
descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations
identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3002, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.7.
Dated: January 13, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-01184 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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