[Federal Register: August 25, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 164)]
[Notices]               
[Page 52368-52369]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25au10-96]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

 
Notice of Inventory Completion: Homer Society of Natural History, 
Pratt Museum, Homer, AK

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 
Homer Society of Natural History, Pratt Museum, Homer, AK. The human 
remains were removed from Kachemak Bay, AK.
    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 Pratt Museum 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Kenaitze 
Indian Tribe and the Seldovia Village Tribe.

    In the summers of 1987 and 1988, human remains representing five 
individuals were removed from the Point West of Halibut Cove Site (SEL-
010), formally known as Calhoun's Point, in Kachemak Bay, AK. The Pratt 
Museum sponsored the excavation of SEL-010, an archeological site on 
private land. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    The Point West of Halibut Cove Site dates to A.D. 1260 - A.D. 1418, 
and has two components. The site includes a Precontact period Dena'ina 
house built into a prehistoric Marine Kachemak tradition (Sugpiaq 
Alutiiq tradition) midden. Two burials were inside the midden. Once the 
crew determined that they were human, the remains were covered and 
excavation in that area ceased. No funerary artifacts were seen or 
removed. The human remains from the excavation in the Pratt Museum are 
isolates from the middle of a midden that consisted of thousands of 
animal bones and shell fragments, and some artifacts. As the human 
remains do not comprise a burial, these artifacts are not considered to 
be funerary objects.
    In the 1970s, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from Kachemak Bay, AK. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In the 1980s, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from the surface of a beach on Kachemak Bay, 
AK, by a private individual. The human remains were given to the 
education department, but were never accessioned. In 2010, the human 
remains were found in the education department's collection. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In the 1990s, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from near Cottonwood Creek Bluff, Kachemak Bay, 
AK, by a private individual. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    The archeological and documentary evidence are in agreement that 
the Kachemak Bay was used by both the ancestors of the Seldovia Village 
(Dena'ina Athabascan and Sugpiaq Alutiiq) and Kenaitze Indian (Dena'ina 
Athabascan) tribal members. Kachemak Bay is the historically documented 
territory of both the Seldovia Village Tribe and Kenaitze Indian Tribe.
    Officials of the Pratt Museum have determined that, pursuant to 25 
U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above represent the 
physical remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Pratt Museum 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 human remains and 
the

[[Page 52369]]

Kenaitze Indian Tribe and Seldovia Village Tribe.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the Native American human remains should 
contact Dr. Cusack-McVeigh, Pratt Museum, 3779 Bartlett St., Homer, AK 
99603, telephone (907) 235-8635, ext. 36, before September 24, 2010. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and the 
Seldovia Village Tribe may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The Pratt Museum is responsible for notifying the Kenaitze Indian 
Tribe and the Seldovia Village Tribe that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: August 19, 2010
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-21190 Filed 8-24-10; 8:45 am]
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