[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14493-14494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06828]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0025137; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: New York University College of 
Dentistry, New York City, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry 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 NYU College of Dentistry. 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 NYU College 
of Dentistry at the address in this notice by May 4, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Louis Terracio, NYU College of Dentistry, 345 East 24th 
Street, New York, NY 10010, telephone (212) 998-9717, 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 NYU College of Dentistry, New York City, NY. The 
human remains were removed from multiple sites in Davidson and 
Williamson counties, TN.

[[Page 14494]]

    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 NYU 
College of Dentistry professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians, The Chickasaw Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee 
Indians in Oklahoma. Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(b)(5), the NYU College of 
Dentistry discussed a proposed disposition, and all four tribes 
determined that The Chickasaw Nation would take the lead on the 
reburial for all of the human remains described below.

History and Description of the Remains

    Between 1868 and 1869, human remains representing, at minimum, 14 
individuals were removed by Dr. Joseph Jones of Nashville, TN, from 
several mound and earthwork sites in the State of Tennessee. Dr. Jones 
kept ledgers that illustrated and described many of the human remains 
and objects that he collected. He published the results of his 
excavations in Volume 22 of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 
In 1906, Dr. Jones' widow sold his collection, including the human 
remains from Tennessee, to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye 
Foundation. In 1956, the Museum of the American Indian transferred some 
of the crania and mandibles from Jones' excavations to Dr. Theodore 
Kazamiroff of the NYU College of Dentistry.
    The human remains under the control of the NYU College of Dentistry 
represent the following: Three adults of indeterminate sex and two 
adult males from the East Nashville Mounds site (40Dv4) in Davidson 
County, TN; one adult female removed from the Gordontown site (40Dv6) 
in Davidson County, TN; one older adult male, one adult male, one 
probable adult female, and one older adult of indeterminate sex removed 
from the Old Town site (40Wm2) in Williamson County, TN; and two older 
adults of indeterminate sex, one older adult male, and one young adult 
female removed from the DeGraffenreid site (40Wm4), in Williamson 
County, TN. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    The human remains described in this notice have been determined to 
be Native American through a combination of collector records, site 
information, and forensic data. In his catalog, Jones identifies the 
remains as Native American. The graves from which the human remains 
were removed all predate European contact, and therefore the human 
remains are assumed to be Native American based on their age. During 
forensic examination, diagnostic features of Native American 
individuals were identified.
    Each of the sites listed in this notice date to the Thruston phase 
(A.D. 1250-1450), based on the burial styles, artifacts, radiocarbon 
dating, Tennessee site file information, and archeological literature. 
The sites and the surrounding region were abandoned by A.D. 1450. 
During consultations, tribal representatives identified the area as the 
ancestral lands of southeastern Indian Tribes, but noted that there is 
difficulty in establishing a specific cultural affiliation due to the 
complexity of the region, broadly shared material culture, and the lack 
of information to trace specific migrations out of the region after 
A.D. 1450.
    Historically, the land from which the human remains were removed 
was claimed by both the Cherokee and the Chickasaw peoples. The 1785 
Treaty of Hopewell officially delineated the boundary between the 
Cherokee and Chickasaw lands. The Cherokee retained rights to land that 
included modern-day Davidson County, TN, and most of modern-day 
Williamson County, TN. The Chickasaw retained rights to land in the 
southern and western portions of modern-day Williamson County, TN. Both 
the Cherokee and Chickasaw ceded their lands in Davidson and/or 
Williamson counties, TN, to the U.S. Government in the Treaty of 1805.

Determinations Made by the NYU College of Dentistry

    Officials of the NYU College of Dentistry have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of, at a minimum, 14 
individuals of Native American ancestry.
     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.
     Treaties indicate that the land from which the Native 
American human remains were removed is the aboriginal land of the 
Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, 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, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma and, 
if joined to one or more of the afore-mentioned aboriginal land tribes, 
The Chickasaw Nation.

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 Dr. Louis Terracio, NYU College of 
Dentistry, 345 East 24th Street, New York, NY 10010, telephone (212) 
998-9717, email [email protected], by May 4, 2018. 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, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in 
Oklahoma, and, if joined to one or more of the afore-mentioned 
aboriginal land tribes, The Chickasaw Nation, may proceed.
    The NYU College of Dentistry is responsible for notifying the 
Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Chickasaw 
Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: February 28, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-06828 Filed 4-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P