[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19306-19307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07374]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-12405; PCU00RP14.R50000-PPWOCRADN0]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate a Cultural Item: U.S. Department 
of the Interior, National Park Service, Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, 
MS

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 
Natchez Trace Parkway, in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
tribes, has determined that a cultural item meets the definition of 
unassociated funerary object and repatriation to the Indian tribe 
stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward. 
Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the cultural item may contact Natchez Trace 
Parkway.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the cultural item should contact Natchez 
Trace Parkway at the address below by April 29, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Dale Wilkerson, Acting Superintendent, Natchez Trace 
Parkway, 2680 Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS, 38803, telephone (662) 
680-4005.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate a cultural item in the 
possession of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park 
Service, Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS that meets the definition of 
unassociated funerary object under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    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 
Superintendent, Natchez Trace Parkway.

History and Description of the Cultural Item

    In 1972, a funerary object was removed from the Emerald Mound site 
in Adams County, MS, during legally authorized excavation projects. The 
whereabouts of the human remains are unknown, and it is not clear from 
excavation documentation if the remains were excavated. The one 
unassociated funerary object is an Addis Plain vessel.
    The Emerald Mound site consists of two mounds and a plaza area. On 
the basis of artifacts recovered during excavation, the site was 
occupied during the late precontact phase of the Mississippian period 
(A.D. 1200-1650, or later). Ceramic types that have been historically 
associated with the Natchez Indians were found throughout the site. 
Mound construction and burial practices at the site were also 
consistent with those of the Natchez Indians.
    Historical evidence indicates the dispersal of the Natchez Indians 
into Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Creek tribal groups. In 1542, Hernando de 
Soto's expedition heard of, and later encountered hostile Indians along 
the lower Mississippi River believed to have been the Natchez and their 
allies. In 1682, the de La Salle expedition specifically identified the 
Natchez as living along the banks of the lower Mississippi River. 
Following an unsuccessful rebellion against the French in 1729, the 
Natchez were dispersed. About 400 individuals surrendered to the French 
and were sent to the West Indies as slaves. The remaining Natchez 
withdrew among the Chickasaw and ultimately separated into two main 
bands, one settling among the Upper Creeks and the other uniting with 
the Cherokee. The Natchez language was still spoken by some in the 
Creek Nation until the early 20th century and by some among the 
Cherokee until the 1940s. Given territorial proximity and complexities 
of modern Cherokee tribal alignments in Oklahoma, both the Cherokee 
Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians are likely to 
include tribal members of Natchez descent.

[[Page 19307]]

Determinations Made by Natchez Trace Parkway

    Officials of Natchez Trace Parkway have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the cultural item 
described above is 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 and is believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native 
American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary object and the Cherokee Nation; Chickasaw Nation; 
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee 
Indians in Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary object should 
contact Dale Wilkerson, Acting Superintendent, Natchez Trace Parkway, 
2680 Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS 38803, telephone (662) 680-4005, 
before April 29, 2013. Repatriation of the unassociated funerary object 
to the Cherokee Nation; Chickasaw Nation; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; 
and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma may proceed 
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    Natchez Trace Parkway is responsible for notifying the Cherokee 
Nation; Chickasaw Nation; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and United 
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: February 21, 2013.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-07374 Filed 3-28-13; 8:45 am]
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