NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION

Information Bulletin #5 (First Amendment)

The Natural Resources Commission in 1993 adopted a nonrule policy document, Information Bulletin #5, to address the burial of human remains at Angel Mounds State Historic Site. The policy was published in the November 1, 1993, issue of the Indiana Register at page 281. The policy is amended, with citations updated to reflect recodifications of rule sections, which have taken place since 1993, and to reflect the current name of the Native American council. This Information Bulletin supersedes the information bulletin with the same subject matter published at 17 IR 281.

The unique interests represented and served by the Angel Mounds State Historic Site have resulted in requests for its usage as a site for the burial of human remains. Acting upon the advice of the Native American Council, the Board of Trustees for the Division of State Museums and Historic Sites, and the Advisory Council for the Bureau of Lands and Cultural Resources, the Natural Resources Commission has approved the policies and directives contained here in order to establish uniform standards for human burial and reburial. To be emphasized, however, is this information bulletin applies only to Angel Mounds State Historic Site.

The Department of Natural Resources will consider for approval a request for the burial or reburial of human remains within Angel Mounds State Historic Site only where each of the following conditions is met:

1. The human remains have a plausible connection to Angel Mounds Historic Site. In order to have a plausible connection to Angel Mounds Historic Site, the remains must meet at least one of the following criteria:

A. The remains are those of Native Americans of the Middle Mississippian Culture previously excavated at the Angel Mounds Site.

B. The remains are those of people who during the historical period lived or worked on the land now making up Angel Mounds Historic Site and who are now buried in a location which is threatened with destruction.

C. The remains are those of non-Mississippian Native Americans which have been in the possession of a Vanderburgh or Warrick county museum (or a similar institution) for so long that they have become identified with the Evansville community and either the cultural affiliation (as defined by 25 U.S.C. 3001-3013) of the remains cannot be determined or the Native American group with the closest cultural affiliation declines to accept the remains for reburial; and provided that the Native American Indiana Affairs Commission recommends that the remains be reburied at Angel Mounds.

2. The person requesting permission for reburial establishes legal custody of the human remains and legal authority to arrange for burial.

3. If the request is to rebury the remains of a Native American, the person requesting permission for reburial establishes full compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001-3013) and associated regulations adopted by the U.S. Secretary of Interior.

4. The person requesting permission for reburial obtains approval from any local authority responsible for human burials, including a permit from the Vanderburgh County Health Department.

5. The person secures approval with the Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology of the Department of Natural Resources and complies with all laws, if the remains are interred elsewhere in Indiana.

6. The person requesting permission for reburial agrees to bear all costs associated with the reburial.

7. Reburial takes place only in a single area outside the site's archaeological zone designated for reburial. This area will have been surveyed by staff of the Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology before reburial and must be certified as an area likely to have no archaeological significance.

8. The person requesting permission for reburial complies with any guidelines established by the Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology for subsurface marking designed to prevent future archaeologists from misinterpreting the new grave sites.

A request for burial or reburial of human remains at Angel Mounds State Historic Site is subject to the following procedural terms and requirements:

1. The person requesting reburial shall first consult with the curator for the Angel Mounds State Historic Site. During this consultation, the curator will explain this information bulletin and advise the person of specific documentation needed to establish that the reburial request meets all appropriate criteria.

2. The person requesting reburial must secure necessary approvals and submit a formal request to the curator.

3. The request and documentation shall be forwarded by the curator to the Director of the Division of State Museums and Historic Sites for review. If the Division Director determines the request to be complete and appropriate, the Division Director may approve the request.

4. Instead of approving a request for reburial, the Division Director may submit the request to the Board of Trustees for the Division of State Museums and Historic Sites for a decision.

5. If the Division Director denies a request for reburial, the person making the request may appeal to the Board of Trustees for the Division of State Museums and Historic Sites.

6. A person dissatisfied with a decision of the Board of Trustees may seek administrative review from the Natural Resources Commission pursuant to IC 4-21.5 and 312 IAC 3-1.

DIN: 20061011-IR-312060442NRA

Composed: May 07,2024 10:24:57AM EDT

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