[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39908-39909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17700]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23668; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Valley Authority, 
Knoxville, TN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects in 
consultation with the appropriate Federally recognized Indian Tribes, 
and has determined that a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Federally 
recognized Indian Tribes cannot be reasonably traced. Representatives 
of any Federally recognized Indian Tribe 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 TVA. If 
no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human 
remains and associated funerary objects to the Federally recognized 
Indian Tribe stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Representatives of any Federally recognized Indian Tribe 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 TVA at 
the address in this notice by September 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Thomas O. Maher, TVA, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11D, 
Knoxville TN 37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, email 
[email protected].

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 objects under the control of TVA. The human remains 
and associated funerary objects were removed from archeological sites 
in Franklin County, AL.
    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 and associated funerary 
objects was made by TVA professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; 
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas (previously listed as the Alabama-
Coushatta Tribes of Texas); Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of 
Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians; Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the Poarch 
Band of Creek Indians of Alabama); The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw 
Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of 
Oklahoma; and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma 
(hereafter referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    From 1978 to 1979, human remains representing, at minimum, 31 
individuals were removed from the Ricker site (1FR310) in Franklin 
County, AL, by the Alabama Museum of Natural History at the University 
of Alabama (AMNH). TVA acquired this site on August 18, 1977, for the 
Cedar Creek Reservoir project. Material culture recovered from this 
site indicates occupations during the Late Archaic (4000-1000 B.C.), 
Middle Woodland Lick Creek phase (A.D. 1-300), and Mississippian period 
(A.D. 1200-1500). The human remains are in the physical custody of AMNH 
and include children, juveniles, and adults. There are three 
individuals identified as male and 28 individuals of indeterminate sex. 
No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    Between September 3 and 18, 1973, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 12 individuals were removed from site 1FR528, in Franklin 
County, AL, by AMNH. TVA acquired this site on January 31, 1972, for 
the Little Bear Creek Reservoir project. Field notes indicate that the 
site was a stone mound that had been disturbed by looters, and no 
individual burial units were isolated during excavation. Sherds of 
limestone-tempered, fabric-marked pottery were found during the 
excavation and suggest the mound may have been constructed during the 
Middle Woodland Lick Creek phase (A.D. 1-300). The human remains are in 
the physical custody of AMNH and include infants, juveniles, and adults 
of indeterminate sex. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    From May 26 to August 4, 1977, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 629 individuals were removed from the Johnson Mound site 
(1FR571) in Franklin County, AL by AMNH. TVA acquired this site on 
March 16, 1976, for the Cedar Creek Reservoir project. This site was a 
small stone mound on the edge of a high bluff in an area of limestone 
outcrop overlooking the Middle Cedar Creek Valley and had been 
extensively damaged. Two uncalibrated radiocarbon dates were derived 
from this site, A.D. 850 50 and A.D. 1070 70. 
Studies have suggested that both dates are too late and that this mound 
is from the Lick Creek phase (A.D. 1-300) during the Middle Woodland 
period. The human remains and associated funerary objects are in the 
physical custody of AMNH and include adults, juveniles, children, and 
infants of both sexes. No known individuals were identified. The 12 
associated funerary objects are 1 crinoid stem; 9 shell beads; 1 shell 
gorget; and 1 soil sample.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

    Officials of TVA have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on their presence in 
prehistoric archeological sites and osteological analysis.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 672 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 12 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

[[Page 39909]]

Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and United Keetoowah 
Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
     The Treaty of September 20, 1816, indicates that the land 
from which the Native American human remains were removed is the 
aboriginal land of The Chickasaw Nation.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1)(ii), the disposition of the 
human remains may be to the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee 
Indians in Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians; and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma have 
declined to accept transfer of control of the human remains.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(4), TVA has decided to 
transfer control of the funerary objects associated with the culturally 
unidentifiable human remains to The Chickasaw Nation.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Federally recognized Indian Tribe 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 Dr. 
Thomas O. Maher, TVA, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11D, Knoxville, TN 
37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, email [email protected], by 
September 21, 2017. After that date, if no additional requestors have 
come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to The Chickasaw Nation may proceed.
    The TVA is responsible for notifying The Consulted Tribes that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: June 28, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-17700 Filed 8-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P