Notice2025-17883
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office, Phoenix, AZ
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 16, 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 Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office (BLM), 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44708-44709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17883]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6524; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041077; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office, 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 Interior, Bureau of
Land Management, Arizona State Office (BLM), 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.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 16, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Raymond Suazo,
Arizona State Director, BLM Arizona State Office, One North Central
Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 85004-9412, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a585657655b40655b49554d5f587a585657145d554c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="395b555466584366584a564e5c5b795b5554175e564f">[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
BLM 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
Based on the information available, human remains representing at
least 20 individuals have been identified from two sites in Graham
Country, Arizona. The 302 associated funerary objects include an apron,
atlatl, bag, bag fragment, botanical material, cords, cord fragment,
cradles, cradle fragment, cradle fragment cord, cradle fragment
leather, gourd fragment, hammerstone, hematite, leather fragment, mano,
net fragment, pipe, plant fiber artifact, plant fiber bag, plant
material, plant material bundle, projectile point, rabbit skin pad,
robe fragment, sandals, shell bead, shell pendant, sherds, textile
fragment, unprocessed leaf fiber, and wood artifact.
AZ W:13:6 (ASM), sometimes called ``McEuen Cave'', is a rock
shelter in southeastern Arizona. Human remains representing at least 19
individuals have been reasonably identified from AZ W:13:6 (ASM), The
funerary objects include 269 objects. Radiocarbon dating from the early
1960s suggests the site was occupied multiple times beginning around
2200-2500 BP. The material culture indicates repeated use by both Late
Archaic and Mogollon peoples. The site was first excavated in 1934 and
1935. Records indicate that during this period, several individuals
associated with the excavation also purchased artifacts removed from
the cave by local residents and incorporated them into the
archaeological collections. These collections were initially curated at
various repositories in Arizona, but several consolidation efforts have
resulted in the bulk of the collections being housed at the Arizona
State Museum.
AZ W:13:21 (ASM), sometimes called ``Day Mine Rock Shelter'', is
also located in southeastern Arizona. Human remains representing at
least one individual have been reasonably identified from the site. The
33 associated funerary objects include 32 sherds and one mano. Ceramics
recovered during excavation suggest multiple occupations between A.D.
900 and A.D. 1500 by Late Archaic, Mogollon, and Salado peoples.
Materials from AZ W:13:21 (ASM) were excavated in 1987 following
extensive vandalism in 1984. The human remains from AZ W:13:21 (ASM)
were loaned to the Human Identification Laboratory at the Arizona State
Museum for osteological assessment on February 23, 1989, by the BLM. In
2002, the BLM registered the collection with the
[[Page 44709]]
Arizona State Museum for final curation.
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 BLM has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 20 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 302 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> There is a reasonable connection between the human remains
and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Ak-
Chin Indian Community; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River
Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; San
Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona; and the
Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona.
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 October
16, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the BLM
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 BLM 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: September 4, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-17883 Filed 9-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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