[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52367-52368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21186]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 
Memphis, TN

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 in the possession of the 
Memphis Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, TN. The human remains were removed 
from Crittenden, Cross, Poinsett, and St. Francis Counties, AR; Coahoma 
and Desoto Counties, MS; and Tipton County, TN.
    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 human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Memphis Pink 
Palace Museum professional staff and consultants in consultation with 
representatives of the Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of three 
individuals were removed from the Bradley site (3CT7), Crittenden 
County, AR, by Mr. J.E. Boone, an avocational archeologist. The human 
remains were kept in Mr. Boone's private collection until they were 
donated to the museum in 1983 and 1984 (Accn. 1983.74.1, 
1984.8.49, and 1984.8.50). No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1972, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the Togo site (3CS24), Cross County, AR, during 
amateur excavations. The human remains were donated to the museum by 
Ms. Dorothy Strum (Accn. 1972.31.737). No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from the Taylor site (possibly also known as 
Taylor's Shanty), Poinsett County, AR, by Mr. Boone. The human remains 
were kept in his private collection until they were donated to the 
museum in 1984 (Accn. 1984.8.51). No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from the Hughes Plantation near Hughes, St. 
Francis County, AR, by Mr. Dallas Gatewood III, an avocational 
archeologist. In 1984, Mr. Gatewood III donated the human remains to 
the museum (Accn. 1971.32.3). No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1951, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the Pelegrin site, which is a component of the Carson 
Mounds, near Clarksdale, in Coahoma County, MS, during a field trip 
sponsored by the Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society. The 
human remains were accessioned by the museum in 1952 (Accn. 
1952.2). No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Prior to 1972, human remains representing a minimum of six 
individuals were removed near the Walls site (22DS500), DeSoto County, 
MS, during amateur excavations. The human remains were donated to the 
museum in 1972 (Accn. 1972.28.1-5). No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In the 1930s, human remains representing a minimum of four 
individuals were removed from the Bishop site (40TP10), also called 
``Big Hatchie Mound,'' Tipton County, TN, by Elbert L. Roper, an 
avocational archeologist. Mr. Roper excavated Hatchie River bottoms in 
Lauderdale and Tipton Counties. Dr. Robert Mainfort of the Arkansas 
Archaeological Survey stated, ``Roper referred to the Hatchie River 
bottoms in Lauderdale and Tipton counties as the `Big Hatchie Country' 
and I think that `mound' just got added on. Certainly the bulk of his 
stuff is from Morgan's Point/Bishop (40TP10).'' The human remains were 
loaned to the museum in 1939, and the loan was converted to a gift in 
1969 (Accn. 1969.17.4-7). No known

[[Page 52368]]

individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Based on the skeletal and dental morphology, as well as accession 
records, officials of the Memphis Pink Palace Museum have determined 
that the above-mentioned human remains are Native American. Based on 
the ceramic styles and construction of pottery related to the sites, 
but that are not associated funerary objects, the human remains can be 
associated with the Nodena, Parkin and Walls Phases of the Late 
Mississippian and proto-historic periods (A.D. 1350-1650).
    Oral traditional and archeological evidence indicate that the 
Quapaw occupied and hunted in the central Mississippi Valley, including 
the modern city of Memphis, TN, for generations prior to European 
contact. Historical documentation identifies Quapaw villages located on 
both sides of the Mississippi River in the Central Mississippi Valley 
as early as the mid-1500s. Based on historical and archeological 
evidence, the Bradley site (3CT7) has been identified as Pacaha, the 
principal town of the Pacaha chiefdom during the DeSoto entrada in 
Arkansas (A.D. 1541-1543). Linguistic evidence indicates a possible 
link between the ``Capaha'' (a.k.a. Pacaha) in a Spanish account, and a 
late 17th century Quapaw Indian village name ``Kappaha'' or ``Kappa.'' 
French maps and documents (A.D. 1673-1720), indicate that only the 
Quapaw had villages on both sides of the Mississippi River in eastern 
Arkansas and western Mississippi, and much of northeastern Arkansas was 
hunting territory. Therefore, the sites are within the traditional 
territory of the Quapaw. Descendants of the Quapaw are members of the 
Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma. Finally, the Quapaw Tribe of 
Indians, Oklahoma, under the NAGPRA process, have previously 
repatriated Native American human remains and associated funerary 
objects, and have been determined to be culturally affiliated with the 
cultural assemblages fround on archeological sites related to Nodena, 
Parkin and Walls phases.
    Officials of the Memphis Pink Palace Museum have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above 
represent the physical remains of 17 individuals of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of the Memphis Pink Palace Museum also have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship 
of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
Native American human remains and the Quapaw Tribe of Indians, 
Oklahoma.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Louella 
Weaver, Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central Ave., Memphis, TN 
38111, telephone (901) 320-6322, before September 24, 2010. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Quapaw Tribe of Indians, 
Oklahoma, may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    The Memphis Pink Palace Museum is responsible for notifying the 
Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: August 19, 2010
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-21186 Filed 8-4-10; 8:45 am]
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