Notice2025-04176
Notice of Intended Disposition: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Tonto National Forest, Phoenix, AZ
Primary source
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Published
March 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Tonto National Forest intends to carry out the disposition of human remains, associated funerary objects, and unassociated 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 50 (Monday, March 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 50 (Monday, March 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12362-12363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04176]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039435; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Disposition: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Tonto National Forest, Phoenix, AZ
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. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Tonto National Forest intends to carry out the disposition of
human remains, associated funerary objects, and unassociated 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 cultural items in this
notice may occur on or after April 16, 2025. If no claim for
disposition is received by March 17, 2026, the human remains and
cultural items in this notice will become unclaimed human remains and
cultural items.
ADDRESSES: Forest Supervisor Neil Bosworth, Tonto National Forest
Supervisor's Office, 2324 E McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006, telephone
(602) 469-4981, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8d6ddd1d496dad7cbcfd7caccd0f8cdcbdcd996dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1d73787471337f726e6a726f69755d686e797c337a726b">[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
Tonto National Forest, and additional information on the human remains
and cultural items 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.
Abstract of Information Available
Based on the information available, human remains representing, at
least, three individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated
funerary objects are present. The 196 unassociated funerary objects
include stone palettes; a stone censer; a stone pendant or censer; a
reconstructible ceramic vessel; lots of ceramic sherds, chipped stone,
flaked stone tools, lithic tabular knife fragments, faunal bone, and
ground stone (including manos and a mortar); a lithic biface; a worked
bone awl; a worked shell; pollen samples; botanical samples;
petrographic samples; flotation samples; and a mineral sample. From
1994 to 1996, Archaeological Research Services, Inc. (ARS) and
Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI) excavated archaeological sites AR-03-
12-03-456, AR-03-12-03-461, AR-03-12-03-563, AR-03-12-03-567, and AR-
03-12-03-568 prior to a State Route (SR) 87 realignment project.
Funerary features were excavated and ancestral remains and funerary
objects were recovered. In June 1999 and October 2008, Arizona State
Museum (ASM) received collections from ARS and SRI. Human remains and
associated funerary objects were repatriated to the Salt River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona in May
2011. In July 2015, during verification of faunal collections housed at
ASM, remains consistent with human remains were identified. In 2024, a
review of ASM's project database identified additional objects
recovered from funerary feature proveniences which had not yet been
repatriated.
Based on the information available, human remains representing, at
least, 10 individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated
funerary objects are present. From 1993 to 1996, Desert Archaeology
excavated archaeological sites AR-03-12-06-199, AR-03-12-06-202, AR-03-
12-06-1362, AR-03-12-06-1368, AR-03-12-06-2064, and AR-03-12-06-2284 as
part of the Tonto Creek Archaeological Project prior to the realignment
of State Route (SR) 188 near Punkin Center, Gila County, Arizona.
Funerary features were located during data recovery. Human remains and
associated funerary objects were repatriated to the Salt River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona in
April 2000. In 2001, collections were received and accessioned by
Arizona State Museum (ASM) via repository agreement. In 2015, during
verification of faunal collections housed at ASM, remains consistent
with human remains were identified.
Based on the information available, no human remains have been
reasonably identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The
984 unassociated funerary objects include miscellaneous stone objects,
building material, pollen samples, botanical samples, chronometric
samples, mineral samples, petrography samples, and lots of ceramic
sherds, flaked stone, ground stone, shell, and faunal bone. From 1999
to 2000, Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI) excavated archaeological
sites AR-03-12-06-2012, AR-03-12-06-2015, and AR-03-12-06-2017 as part
of the SR 188 Cottonwood Creek Project in Gila County, Arizona prior to
the realignment of State Route (SR) 188 near Jakes Corner, Arizona.
Funerary features were located during data recovery. In September 2009,
collections were received and accessioned by Arizona State Museum (ASM)
via repository agreement. Human remains and associated funerary objects
were repatriated to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of
the Salt River Reservation, Arizona in May 2011. In 2024, a review of
ASM's project database identified additional objects recovered from
funerary feature proveniences which had not yet been repatriated.
Based on the information available, human remains representing, at
least, 12 individuals have been reasonably identified. The two
associated funerary objects are a lot of bulk lithic chipped stone and
a lot of bulk ceramic sherds. The 15 unassociated funerary objects
include bulk ceramic sherds, bulk lithic chipped stone, bulk ground
stone, and faunal bone. From October 1996 to March 1999, Archaeological
Consulting Services, Ltd. (ACS) excavated archaeological sites AR-03-
12-02-78, AR-03-12-02-86, and AR-03-12-02-1191 as part of the SR 88
Wheatfields Project in Gila County, Arizona prior to the realignment of
State Route (SR) 188 between Tonto National Monument and the junction
with U.S. 60. Twenty-seven funerary features were located during data
recovery. Human remains and associated funerary objects were
repatriated to the Salt River Pima-
[[Page 12363]]
Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona in
July 2002 and February 2004. In November 2003, collections were
received and accessioned by Arizona State Museum (ASM) via repository
agreement. In July 2015, during verification of faunal collections
housed at ASM, remains consistent with human remains were identified.
In 2024, a review of ASM's project database identified additional
objects recovered from funerary feature proveniences which had not yet
been repatriated.
Based on the information available, human remains representing, at
least, one individual have been reasonably identified. No associated
funerary objects are present. In September 2023, the Arizona State
University (ASU) Center for Archaeology and Society Repository notified
the Tonto National Forest that one unrepatriated individual from the
Roosevelt Platform Mound Study (RPMS), which took place near Roosevelt
Lake in Gila County, Arizona, had been located at the Repository. RPMS
excavations took place from 1989 to 1993. It is not currently known
which site this individual was removed from. RPMS was a subset of a
large Bureau of Reclamation-sponsored project known as ``Plan 6'' that
entailed the modification of Theodore Roosevelt Dam. Human remains and
cultural items from Plan 6 were previously repatriated to the Salt
River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation,
Arizona in 1998 and 1999.
Based on the information available, human remains representing, at
least, one individual have been reasonably identified. The five
associated funerary objects are three lots of sherds representing three
reconstructible vessels, one lot of flaked stone, and one additional
lot of sherds. This inhumation burial and associated funerary objects
were recovered in June 2023 from archaeological site AR-03-12-01-02 in
Yavapai County, Arizona after an inadvertent discovery during a
pedestrian archaeological survey. This burial had been exposed by
erosion and was recovered due to the risk of vandalism.
Based on the information available, human remains representing, at
least, two individuals have been reasonably identified. The three
associated funerary objects are one shell fragment, one lot of flaked
stone, and one lot of ceramic sherds representing one vessel. These two
cremation burials and associated funerary objects were observed by an
archaeological monitor during maintenance of an existing generator
facility. They were recovered in November 2006 from archaeological site
AR-03-12-01-318 near Bartlett Lake in Maricopa County, Arizona. Human
remains and associated funerary objects from a later inadvertent
discovery at the same archaeological site in June 2022 were repatriated
to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River
Reservation, Arizona in December 2024.
Determinations
The Tonto National Forest has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 29 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 10 associated funerary 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 1,195 unassociated funerary objects described in this
notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with
or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death
or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The
unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance
of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or
families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an
individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe
or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt
River Reservation, Arizona has priority for disposition of the human
remains and cultural items described in this notice.
Claims for Disposition
Written claims for disposition of the human remains and cultural
items in this notice must be sent to the appropriate official
identified in this notice under ADDRESSES. If no claim for disposition
is received by March 17, 2026, the human remains and cultural items in
this notice will become unclaimed human remains and cultural items.
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 cultural items in this notice
may occur on or after April 16, 2025. If competing claims for
disposition are received, the Tonto National Forest must determine the
most appropriate claimant prior to disposition. Requests for joint
disposition of the human remains and cultural items are considered a
single request and not competing requests. The Tonto National Forest 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 28, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-04176 Filed 3-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 17, 2025.
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