Rules and Regulations. Notice

Agency: National Park Service, Interior
Action: Notice
Citation: FR Doc. 2012-14305 · NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-10363; 2200-1100-665

Summary

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, have determined that the cultural items meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and repatriation to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward. Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the cultural items may contact the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona.

Dates

Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a cultural affiliation with the cultural items should contact the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona at the address below by July 12, 2012.

Supplementary Information

Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and in the physical custody of the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001. 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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. History and Description of the Cultural Items In 1934, cultural items were removed from the Snaketown site (AZ U:13:1 (ASM)), on the Gila River Indian Reservation, Pinal County, AZ, during archeological excavations conducted by the Gila Pueblo Foundation of Arizona. In December, 1950, the Gila Pueblo Foundation closed and the collections were donated to the Arizona State Museum. Additional cultural items were removed from the same site in 1964-1965 during legally authorized excavations conducted by the University of Arizona under the direction of Emil Haury. Collections obtained during the University of Arizona excavations were accessioned by the Arizona State Museum at the conclusion of the project. The items were reportedly found in association with human burials, but the human remains are not present in the collections. The 30 unassociated funerary objects are 1 ceramic plate, 1 ceramic vessel leg, 27 ceramic sherds, and 1 chipped stone artifact. Other unassociated funerary objects from this site were published in Notices of Intent to Repatriate in the Federal Register (66 FR 15741-15742, March 20, 2001; 69 FR 76779-76780, December 22, 2004; and 71 FR 13164-13165, March 14, 2006). The archeological evidence, including characteristics of portable material culture, attributes of ceramic styles, domestic and ritual architecture, site organization, and canal-based agriculture of the settlement places the Snaketown site within the archeologically-defined Hohokam tradition, and within the Phoenix Basin local variant of that tradition. The occupation of the Snaketown site spans the years circa A.D. 500/700-1100/1150. Continuities of mortuary practices, ethnographic materials, and technology indicate affiliation of Hohokam settlements with present-day O'odham (Piman) and Puebloan cultures. Documentation submitted by representatives of the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona, on April 13, 2011, addresses continuities between the Hohokam and the O'odham tribes. Furthermore, oral traditions that are documented for the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; 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; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona support affiliation with Hohokam sites in central Arizona. Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Arizona State Museum have determined that: • Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 30 cultural items described above are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony and are believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native American individual. • Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the unassociated funerary objects and the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; 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; and Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona. Additional Requestors and Disposition Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary objects should contact John McClelland, NAGPRA Coordinator, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210026, Tucson, AZ 85721, telephone (520) 626-2950, before July 12, 2012. Repatriation of the unassociated funerary objects to the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; 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; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward. The Arizona State Museum is responsible for notifying the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; 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; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona that this notice has been published. Dated: June 7, 2012. David Tarler, Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program. [FR Doc. 2012-14305 Filed 6-11-12; 8:45 am]