Notice of Inventory Completion: Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Kansas State University 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 August 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Megan Williamson, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Kansas State University, 204 Waters Hall, 1603 Old Claflin Place, Manhattan, KS 66506-4003, telephone (785) 532-6005, email mwillia1@ksu.edu.

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 Kansas State University, 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

Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been identified. There are 2,002 associated funerary objects present. The associated funerary objects include ceramics, chipped and ground stone tools, numerous pieces of chipped stone debris, unmodified stone, five pieces of modified animal bone, unmodified animal bone and teeth, fragments of mussel shell, one piece of daub, one charcoal sample, and 20 items of non-native manufacture ( e.g., Euro-American ceramics, glass, lamp parts and other metal).

The Leary site located in Richardson County, Nebraska on the bounds of the reservation of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. The Leary assemblage housed at Kansas State University is believed to be a day long surface collection from a field school in June of 1968 under the lead of Dr. Patricia O'Brien of Kansas State University. The assemblage also includes artifacts collected and donated by Dr. Dale Henning to Kansas State University in 2002.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by geographic location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in the notice.

Determinations

Kansas State University has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 2,002 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.
• There is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

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 August 29, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Kansas State University 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. Kansas State University 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.