Notice of Inventory Completion: Pueblo Grande Museum, Phoenix, AZ

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Pueblo Grande Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the Pueblo Grande Museum. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES:

Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request with information in support of the request to the Pueblo Grande Museum at the address in this notice by April 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Lindsey Vogel-Teeter, Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 E Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85331, telephone (602) 495-0901, email lindsey.vogel-teeter@phoenix.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 object under the control of the Pueblo Grande Museum, Phoenix, AZ. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Gila or Pinal County, AZ.

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 43 CFR 10.11(d). 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 and associated funerary objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Pueblo Grande Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Reservation, Arizona; Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe (previously listed as the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of the Yavapai Reservation, Arizona); and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.

The following tribes were contacted but did not participate in consultations: Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona; Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona; and the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona.

Hereafter, all Tribes listed in this section are referred to as “The Consulted and Notified Tribes.”

History and Description of the Remains

At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from a cave in Aravaipa Canyon in Gila or Pinal County, AZ, by Charles Armer. On March 5, 1933, the human remains were transferred to the Arizona Museum, which later became the Phoenix Museum of History. On September 10, 2009, the human remains and associated funerary object were transferred from the Phoenix Museum of History (which closed in 2009) to the Pueblo Grande Museum. The partial human remains belong to a naturally mummified infant between six months and one year of age, and of indeterminant sex. No known individuals were identified. The seven associated funerary objects are a pitch-coated cradleboard made up of two boards, one tump-band, one plaited pillow, one plaited strap, one cordage assortment, and one lot of leather. The shape and coating of the cradleboard and its lack of cotton cloth recall early Apache technologies. The plaited pillow and cordage are not consistent with known Apache technology, but they do appear in other archeological cultures of the central Arizona mountain areas.

Determinations Made by the Pueblo Grande Museum

Officials of the Pueblo Grande Museum have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice are Native American based on osteological analysis and associated funerary objects.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the seven objects described in this notice 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.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribe.
• According to final judgments of the Indian Claims Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona; Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona; White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona; Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Reservation, Arizona; and the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe (previously listed as the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of the Yavapai Reservation, Arizona), hereafter referred to as “The Aboriginal Land Tribes”.
• Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects may be to The Aboriginal Land Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request with information in support of the request to request to Lindsey Vogel-Teeter, Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85331, telephone (602) 495-0901, email lindsey.vogel-teeter@phoenix.gov, by April 29, 2019. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The Aboriginal Land Tribes may proceed.

The Pueblo Grande Museum is responsible for notifying The Consulted and Notified Tribes and The Aboriginal Land Tribes that this notice has been published.