[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 147 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45920-45922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16498]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030489; 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 there is no cultural affiliation between the 
human remains and funerary objects and any present-day Federally-
recognized Indian Tribe. 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 the 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 the TVA 
at the address in this notice by August 31, 2020.

[[Page 45921]]


ADDRESSES: Dr. Thomas O. Maher, Tennessee Valley Authority, 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the Tennessee Valley 
Authority, Knoxville, TN. The human remains and funerary objects were 
removed from archeological sites 1LU495 and 1LU92 in Lauderdale County, 
AL, and 40HN4/40HR54 in Hardin County, TN.
    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 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 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 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

    From June 29 to July 1, 1988, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 33 individuals were removed from site 1LU495 by the University 
of Alabama archeological field school. TVA acquired this land on 
February 18, 1937, for the Pickwick Reservoir project. The site is a 
cave adjacent to Coffee Slough in the vicinity of Seven Mile Island. 
The University of Alabama field school excavated two small units, but 
the chronological placement of the site is unknown. Human remains from 
this site were previously listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion 
published in the Federal Register (82 FR 39904-39906, August 22, 2017) 
and were transferred to The Chickasaw Nation. Additional human remains 
were found during a recent improvement in the curation of the TVA 
archeological collections at the Alabama Museum of Natural History 
(AMNH). These human remains are too fragmentary to determine the sex of 
the individuals. They belong to 27 adults 18 years or older, and six 
sub-adults ranging in age from 1-14 years. No known individuals were 
identified.
    From October 1937 to December 1938, human remains and funerary 
objects were excavated from site 1LU92 by the AMNH. Excavation 
commenced after TVA purchased this land on November 27, 1935, for the 
Pickwick Reservoir project. Site 1LU92 was composed of both a village 
and a cemetery. Excavations focused on the cemetery. There was no clear 
stratigraphy at the site. The excavators believed the village midden 
predates the cemetery. The later occupation is attributed to the Kogers 
Island phase of the Mississippian period (A.D. 1200-1500). Human 
remains and associated funerary objects from this site were previously 
listed in Notices of Inventory Completion published in the Federal 
Register (81 FR 60378, September 1, 2016 and 84 FR 38051, August 5, 
2019), and were transferred to The Chickasaw Nation. Additional 
funerary objects were found during a recent improvement in the curation 
of the TVA archeological collection at the AMNH. The five funerary 
objects associated with human remains include four wood ear spools with 
copper staining and one bone pin with copper staining.
    From January 16 to April 26, 1937, human remains and associated 
funerary objects were excavated from the Fisher Mound, 40HN4/40HR54, by 
the AMNH. TVA acquired this site on July 25, 1936, as part of the 
Pickwick Reservoir project. The site was approximately 400 feet north 
of the border with Alabama on the right descending side of the 
Tennessee River. The site's most noticeable surface feature was a 
conical mound 70 feet in diameter and 11 feet high. Using Works 
Progress Administration labor and funds, the AMNH excavated the mound 
and three adjacent areas. There are no radiocarbon dates from this 
site, and very little pottery was recovered in the village area. The 
mound is generally identified as a mortuary structure from the Copena 
phase (A.D. 100-500). Cultural items from this site were previously 
listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal 
Register (83 FR 65738, December 21, 2018), and were transferred to The 
Chickasaw Nation. Additional funerary objects were found during a 
recent improvement in the curation of the TVA archeological collection 
at the AMNH. The seven funerary objects include five pieces of daub or 
clay used to contain human remains and two galena nodules.

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 a 
prehistoric archeological site and osteological analysis.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 33 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 cultural items 
and any present-day Indian Tribe.
     According to final judgements of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the 
cultural items 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 cultural items 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 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. Accordingly, TVA has decided to transfer control of the 
unidentifiable human remains to The Chickasaw Nation.
     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.

[[Page 45922]]

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, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill 
Drive, WT11C, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, email 
[email protected], by August 31, 2020. 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 Tennessee Valley Authority is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: June 18, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-16498 Filed 7-29-20; 8:45 am]
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