[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 183 (Friday, September 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44456-44457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20302]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0023948; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Alabama Department of 
Transportation, Montgomery, AL

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Alabama Department of Transportation has completed an 
inventory of human remains 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 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 
should submit a written request to the Alabama Department of 
Transportation. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains 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 should submit a written 
request with information in support of the request to the Alabama 
Department of Transportation at the address in this notice by October 
23, 2017.

ADDRESSES: William B. Turner, Alabama Department of Transportation, 
1409 Coliseum Boulevard, Montgomery, AL 36110, telephone (334) 242-
6144, 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 under 
the control of the Alabama Department of Transportation, Montgomery, 
AL. The human remains were removed from the Whitesburg Bridge Site 
(1Ma10), Madison 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. 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 
Tennessee Valley Authority and Alabama Department of Transportation 
staff professionals in consultation with representatives of the 
Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Chickasaw 
Nation, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    In April of 2012, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the Whitesburg Bridge site (1Ma10) in 
Madison County, AL. On April 23, 2012, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) 
ARPA Investigations received a call from the Huntsville Police 
Department regarding illegal digging of a gravesite on the river bank 
at the Whitesburg Bridge in Huntsville, AL. Huntsville Police collected 
a portion of the human remains that were exposed in the river bank. The 
human remains were transferred to Alabama Department of Forensic 
Sciences (DFS) for identification. On April 25, 2012, TVA archeologists 
examined the site to assess the damage and determine if the location 
was on State or Federal land. After discussions between TVA and the 
Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDoT), it was decided that, 
because of evidence of active illegal digging at the site, TVA would 
excavate the rest of the human remains. The remaining human remains 
were excavated on April 26, 2012, by TVA archeologists and the site was 
covered with vegetation. A portion of the burial remained within the 
intact shell midden. Discoloration of some of the bone recovered on the 
river bank suggests that a portion of the burial had eroded out of the 
shoreline and was exposed to sun. A TVA Police Investigator collected 
the remaining human remains from DFS. TVA archeologist/osteologist 
Michaelyn

[[Page 44457]]

Harle analyzed the human remains and determined that the skeletal 
morphology is consistent with prehistoric Native American and not 
considered forensic in nature. Subsequent survey by Alabama Department 
of Transportation surveyors established that the human remains were 
barely inside ALDoT right-of-way. Consequently, on July 10, 2012, ALDoT 
took possession of the human remains from TVA.

Determinations Made by the Alabama Department of Transportation

    Officials of the Alabama Department of Transportation have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on a recorded archeological 
site, visual osteomorphological structure of the long bones, and the 
significant occlusal wear on the dentition.
     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 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 were removed is the aboriginal land of 
the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Chickasaw 
Nation, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains may be to the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians, The Chickasaw Nation, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and United 
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

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 should submit a written request with information 
in support of the request to William B. Turner, Alabama Department of 
Transportation, 1409 Coliseum Boulevard, Montgomery, AL 36110, 
telephone (334) 242-6144, email [email protected], by October 23, 
2017. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains to the Cherokee Nation, 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Chickasaw Nation, The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in 
Oklahoma may proceed.
    The Alabama Department of Transportation is responsible for 
notifying the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The 
Chickasaw Nation, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and United Keetoowah 
Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: August 3, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-20302 Filed 9-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P