[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54168-54169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22043]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0028910; 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 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 TVA. 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 TVA at the 
address in this notice by November 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Thomas O. Maher, TVA, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11C, 
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 under 
the control of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN. The human 
remains were removed from an archeological site in Colbert County, AL.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative

[[Page 54169]]

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 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; 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 the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma 
(hereafter referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    Between December 1938 and June 1939, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from the Little Bear Creek site, 
1CT8, in Colbert County, AL, by the Alabama Museum of Natural History 
(AMNH) at the University of Alabama. TVA acquired the site on August 
20, 1936, for the Pickwick Reservoir project. This shell midden site is 
at the confluence of Little Bear Creek and the Tennessee River. While 
there are no radiocarbon dates from this site, the excavated artifacts 
indicate that the major occupations took place during the Late Archaic 
(4000-1000 B.C.). Ceramics, while not abundant, were found in the upper 
two-to-three feet. Some of the ceramics suggest minor occupations 
during the Colbert (300 B.C.-A.D. 100) and McKelvey (A.D. 500-1000) 
phases. Distinctive shell-tempered vessels associated with some burials 
indicate a Mississippian Kogers Island phase (A.D. 1200-1500) 
occupation. The human remains are of indeterminate sex. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Human remains and associated funerary objects excavated from site 
1CT8 were the subject of a notice published in the Federal Register on 
December 21, 2018. In January 2019, the human remains in this notice 
were discovered by the AMNH in the course of conducting a curation 
improvement project.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

    Officials of Tennessee Valley Authority 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 one individual 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.
     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; and the 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), the disposition of the 
human remains may be to the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
     The Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and 
the 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)(1)(ii), the Tennessee Valley 
Authority has decided to transfer control of the human remains to 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. Thomas O. Maher, TVA, 400 West Summit 
Hill Drive, WT11C, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, 
email [email protected], by November 8, 2019. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains to The Chickasaw Nation may proceed.
    The Tennessee Valley Authority is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 13, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-22043 Filed 10-8-19; 8:45 am]
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