[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65417-65418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25730]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0029092; 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 and 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 December 27, 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 archeological sites in Lauderdale and Madison 
Counties, 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 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

    The sites listed in this notice were excavated as part of TVA's 
Wheeler Reservoir project by the Alabama Museum of Natural History 
(AMNH) at the University of Alabama, using labor and funds provided by 
the Works Progress Administration. Details regarding these excavations 
and sites may be found in a report, ``An Archaeological Survey of 
Wheeler Basin on the Tennessee River in Northern Alabama,'' by William 
S. Webb. Human remains and other associated funerary objects from the 
two sites covered by this notice were previously listed in a Notice of 
Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on December 21, 
2018 (83 FR 65730-65731, December 21, 2018), and were transferred to 
the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Chickasaw 
Nation, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. 
Additional human remains were found during a recent improvement in the 
curation of the TVA archaeological collections at AMNH.
    In March 1934, human remains representing, at minimum, five 
individuals were removed from site 1LU86 in Lauderdale County, AL. TVA

[[Page 65418]]

acquired this site on October 9, 1934, for the Wheeler Reservoir 
project. The excavation in March 1934, undertaken prior to the 
acquisition of the site, was conducted using Federal funds in 
anticipation of the inundation of the site. This site was 350 feet long 
and 200 feet wide. Although described as a mound, it appears to have 
been an accumulation of shell, midden debris, and natural floodplain 
soils, rather than intentionally constructed earthen works. No 
structures were identified, but there were multiple hearths, midden-
filled pits, and human burials. There are no radiocarbon dates for this 
site. Recovered artifacts suggest multiple occupations including Late 
Archaic (4000-1000 B.C.), Early Woodland (1000-500 B.C.), Middle 
Woodland Copena Phase (A.D. 100-500), Late Woodland (A.D. 500-1000) and 
Mississippian (A.D. 1200-1500) periods. The human remains include four 
adults and one infant of indeterminate sex. No known individuals were 
identified. There are no associated funerary objects.
    From February through March 1934, human remains representing, at 
minimum, three individuals were removed from site 1MA4, in Madison 
County, AL. TVA acquired a strip of land around the periphery of Hobbs 
Island encompassing this site on May 23, 1939, as part of the Wheeler 
Reservoir project. The excavation in March 1934 was conducted with 
Federal funds in anticipation of the inundation of this site. The site 
was a shell midden 300 x 125 feet and adjacent to the island's 
shoreline. There are no radiocarbon dates available for this site, but 
artifacts from a non-mortuary context suggest Langston (A.D. 900-1200) 
and Hobbs Island (A.D. 1200-1450) phase occupations. The human remains 
include two adults and one child of indeterminate sex. No known 
individuals were identified. There are no associated funerary objects.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

    Officials of the 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 an osteological analysis.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of eight 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.
     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.

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 December 27, 2019. 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; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians 
in Oklahoma may proceed.
    The Tennessee Valley Authority is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: October 8, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-25730 Filed 11-26-19; 8:45 am]
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