[Federal Register: December 9, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 236)]
[Notices]
[Page 73263-73264]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09de05-106]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth Hot Springs,
WY
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 and associated funerary
objects in the possession of the U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth Hot Springs,
WY. The human remains and cultural items were removed from the Fishing
Bridge area of the park.
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 within this notice are the sole responsibility of
the superintendent, Yellowstone National Park.
A detailed assessment of the human remains and funerary objects was
made by Yellowstone National Park professional staff in consultation
with representatives of the Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River
Reservation, Wyoming; Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck
Indian Reservation, Montana; Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian
Reservation of Montana; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne
River Reservation, South Dakota; Coeur D'Alene Tribe of the Coeur
D'Alene Reservation, Idaho; Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of
the Flathead Reservation, Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana; Flandreau
Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Fort Belknap Indian Community of
the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana; Kiowa Indian Tribe of
Oklahoma; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South
Dakota; Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of
the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the
Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of
the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho; Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River
Reservation, Wyoming; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
In 1941, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from the Fishing Bridge Peninsula in Park County, WY,
during a construction project in the tourist cabin development area.
The individual was identified as a Native American male most likely 35-
45 years old. He was buried in a flexed position with his head pointed
about 10 degrees to the south of west. Projectile point typology and
geomorphology suggest that the burial dates to the Late Prehistoric
period. No known individual was identified. The 105 associated funerary
objects are 1 antler fragment, 1 chert drill, 1 chert knife, 2 chert
flakes, 2 dog skulls, 1 granite pounding stone, 1 obsidian flake, 1
projectile point, and 95 stones of various sizes. Three small
projectile points, 10 worked scrapers and flakes, and 200-300 stone
flakes are missing from the originally recovered associated funerary
objects and are not included here.
In 1956, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals
were removed from the Fishing Bridge Campground in Park County, WY,
during a trench-digging project. One individual was identified as a
Native American female most likely 40-50 years old. The other partial
set of remains represents a Native American infant. It is not known
whether the remains were flexed or in which direction the head of the
female was oriented. The absence of artifacts precludes relative dating
of the burial and radiocarbon dating did not occur. However, geomorphic
analysis from a nearby burial site suggests a Late Prehistoric age. No
known individuals were identified. The one associated funerary object
is the fragmentary skeleton of a dog.
Of those tribes with whom the park consulted, only three stated
they buried dogs with humans. Two Shoshonean groups, the Shoshone Tribe
of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho, stated their ancestors
customarily included dogs in burials with humans and that children were
sometimes buried with women. The Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River
Reservation, Wyoming and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall
Reservation of Idaho stated that some of their ancestors were on the
Yellowstone Plateau as early as what archeologists refer to as the
Paleoindian period and continued to inhabit it through historic times
as the Lemhi Shoshone and the Sheepeaters. A Crow
[[Page 73264]]
tribal historian and descendent of the Mountain Crow, a Northwest
Plains group, stated that families traveled to and inhabited the
Yellowstone Plateau during the summer. He said that before horses, dogs
were included in human burials. Archeological evidence places the Crow
in Wyoming by 1490. However, the short-stature of both adults is
suggestive of Shoshoneans, rather than groups from the Northwest
Plains.
While archeologists debate the arrival of the Shoshoneans into the
area, some evidence in Idaho and Wyoming suggests Shoshoneans have been
in the region for as long as 3,000 years and possibly 8,000 years.
Conservative estimates place them in Wyoming around A.D. 1300 to A.D.
1400. When fur trapper Osbourne Russell came to what is now Yellowstone
in the 1830s and 1840s he observed pedestrian Sheepeaters who traveled
with dogs in contrast with the equestrian Blackfeet he also observed.
In 1948, Chief Park Naturalist David Condon stated that ``several early
writings'' identified the Shoshone as frequent visitors to Yellowstone
Lake. The oral traditions of the Shoshone, the Salish, and the Nez
Perce indicate that they rendezvoused at Fishing Bridge prior to the
arrival of Euroamericans. However, there is no archeological evidence
of Nez Perce burying dogs with humans. A representative from the
Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee stated that not enough
traditional information exists to determine if Salishan speakers buried
dogs with humans.
Officials of Yellowstone National Park have determined that,
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above
represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American
ancestry. Officials of Yellowstone National Park also have determined
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the 106 objects described
above are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near the
human remains at the time of death or later as part of a death rite or
ceremony. Lastly, officials of Yellowstone National Park have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a
relationship of shared group identity that can reasonably be traced
between the Native American human remains and associated funerary
objects and the Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary
objects should contact Suzanne Lewis, superintendent, Yellowstone
National Park, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190,
telephone (307) 344-2229, before January 9, 2006. Repatriation of the
human remains and associated funerary objects to the Shoshone Tribe of
the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of
the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho may proceed after that date if no
additional claimants come forward.
Yellowstone National Park is responsible for notifying the Arapahoe
Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Assiniboine and Sioux
Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Blackfeet Tribe of
the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Coeur D'Alene Tribe of
the Coeur D'Alene Reservation, Idaho; Confederated Salish & Kootenai
Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana;
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Fort Belknap Indian
Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana; Kiowa Indian
Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule
Reservation, South Dakota; Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho; Northern Cheyenne
Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala
Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota; Rosebud Sioux
Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Shoshone-Bannock
Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho; Shoshone Tribe of the
Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South
Dakota that this notice has been published.
Dated: October 31, 2005
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 05-23870 Filed 12-8-05; 8:45 am]
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