FR Doc 2010-19002[Federal Register: August 3, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 148)]
[Notices]               
[Page 45656-45657]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au10-96]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service
 
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Forest Service, Siuslaw National Forest, Waldport, OR

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.
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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Siuslaw National 
Forest, Waldport, OR. The human remains were removed from the Cape 
Perpetua Visitor Center, Lincoln County, OR.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Siuslaw 
National Forest professional staff in consultation with representatives 
of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw 
Indians of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of 
Oregon; Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon; and the 
Coquille Tribe of Oregon.
    At an unknown date prior to 1988, human remains representing a 
minimum of one individual were removed near Cape Perpetua, near 
Yachats, Lincoln County, OR, and given to the Cape Perpetua Visitor 
Center. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    The Visitor Center held the human remains in secure storage until 
transferring to the Forest Archaeologist. No information accompanied 
the human remains regarding the specific location and conditions of 
discovery other than the remains were retrieved from a crevice in the 
rocky shoreline between Cape Perpetua and Yachats.
    Consultation evidence and the ethnographic record show that this 
area was part of the ancestral territory of the Alsea Indians. At 
Contact, the territory of the Alsea extended along the Oregon coast and 
rivers from approximately 8 miles south of Yachats to approximately 10 
miles north of Waldport. In 1855, this land base and the Alsea people 
were included within the Coast Indian Reservation. This reservation was 
later referred to as the Siletz Indian Reservation. For approximately 
10 years during the reservation era, other tribes, including the Coos, 
Lower Umpqua, Coquille, and some Siuslaw people whose traditional 
territories lay to the south of the Alsea, were forcibly held at the 
Alsea Sub-agency of the Coast Indian Reservation, which was located at 
present-day Yachats. Of these tribal peoples, only the Alsea are known 
to have primarily practiced above ground interment at locations similar 
to that identified for this individual. Descendants of the Alsea are 
members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon.
    Officials of the Siuslaw National Forest have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above 
represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of the Siuslaw National Forest also have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of shared 
group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American

[[Page 45657]]

human remains and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Phyllis 
Steeves, Heritage Program Manager, Siuslaw National Forest, 1130 
Forestry Lane/PO Box 400, Waldport, OR 97394, telephone (541) 563-8425, 
before September 2, 2010. Repatriation of the human remains to the 
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon may proceed after that 
date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Siuslaw National Forest is responsible for notifying the 
Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians of 
Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon; and the Coquille Tribe 
of Oregon, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 26, 2010
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-19002 Filed 8-2-10; 8:45 am]
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