[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 162 (Thursday, August 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51486-51488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18232]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030623; 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 associated funerary objects, in consultation with the 
appropriate Federally-recognized Indian Tribes, and has determined that 
a cultural affiliation between the associated funerary objects and 
present-day Federally-recognized Indian Tribes can reasonably be 
traced. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Federally-
recognized Indian Tribe not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of the associated funerary objects should 
submit a written request to the TVA. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the associated funerary objects to the 
Federally-recognized Indian Tribes stated in this notice may proceed.

[[Page 51487]]


DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Federally-
recognized Indian Tribe not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of the 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 September 21, 2020.

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 associated funerary 
objects under the control of Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN. 
Transfer of control of the human remains with which these funerary 
objects are associated, as well as additional associated funerary 
objects, has already occurred. The associated funerary objects listed 
in this notice were discovered during a recent review of the TVA 
archeological collection housed at the Alabama Museum of Natural 
History. The associated funerary objects were removed from 
archeological sites in Jackson and Marshall 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). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the funerary objects 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); 
Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of 
Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of 
Oklahoma; 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; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; and 
the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (hereafter 
referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes'').

History and Description of the Associated Funerary Objects

    The four sites listed in this notice--1JA27, 1JA102, 1MS55, and 
1MS91--were excavated as part of TVA's Guntersville 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 Guntersville Basin on 
the Tennessee River in Northern Alabama,'' by William S. Webb and 
Charles G. Wilder.
    Human remains and other associated funerary objects from 1JA27 were 
listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal 
Register on September 5, 2017 (82 FR 41985-41987). Human remains and 
other associated funerary objects from 1JA102 and 1MS91 were listed in 
a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on 
September 1, 2016 (81 FR 60381-60383). Human remains and other 
associated funerary objects from 1MS55 were listed in a Notice of 
Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on April 29, 
2019 (84 FR 18080-18081). Transfer of control of the cultural items 
listed in those notices to the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; 
Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and The 
Muscogee (Creek) Nation has already occurred. The associated funerary 
objects listed in this notice were discovered during a recent review of 
the TVA archeological collection housed at AMNH.
    From March to April of 1938, a Furrs Cordmarked rim and a Bell 
Plain Effigy Bottle were removed from burial units 2 and 3, 
respectively, at the Hardin site (1JA27) in Jackson County, AL, after 
TVA acquired the site on October 16, 1936. Excavations revealed two 
primary occupations during the Late Woodland Flint River phase (A.D. 
500-1000) and the Mississippian Henry Island phase (A.D. 1200-1450). 
The associated funerary objects listed in this notice were originally 
found with the human remains that were from the Henry Island phase.
    From September 1938 to January 1939, one Bell Plain effigy bowl was 
removed from burial unit 10 at 1JA102, Sublet Ferry site, in Jackson 
County, AL. Excavations commenced after TVA acquired a permit for 
archeological exploration on June 11, 1938. Excavations revealed this 
site to be a shell midden overlying a dark midden soil. Both Woodland 
and Mississippian occupations were identified. The associated funerary 
object listed in this notice was from the Henry Island phase of the 
Mississippian period.
    From September 1937 to May 1938, one Bell Plain jar was removed 
from burial unit 39 at the Henry Island site, 1MS55, in Marshall 
County, AL. TVA purchased the site on November 2, 1936. This site was 
composed of two earthen mounds and an associated village midden. 
Although there are no radiocarbon dates from this site, artifacts from 
the excavation suggest occupations during the Copena (A.D. 100-500), 
Flint River (A.D. 500-1000), Henry Island (A.D. 1200-1500), and Crow 
Creek (A.D. 1500-1650) phases. The associated funerary object listed in 
this notice was removed from a Henry Island phase burial.
    From June 1938 to May 1939, one brass bell was removed from burial 
unit 25 (Unit I), and 17 glass beads, one carbonized textile sample and 
one carbonized basketry sample were removed from burial unit 5 (Unit 
II) at the Columbus City Landing site, 1MS91. This site is northeast of 
the city of Guntersville in Marshall County, AL. Excavation commenced 
after TVA purchased the land on March 8, 1937. There were excavations 
in both the village (Unit I) and adjacent mounds (Unit II). Artifacts 
recovered from this excavation revealed that the primary occupations 
were during the Middle Woodland (A.D. 100-500), Mississippian (A.D. 
1200-1500), and historic periods. The associated funerary objects 
listed in this notice were removed from historic Native American 
burials.
    A relationship of shared group identity can reasonably be traced 
between present-day Indian Tribes and the cultural items of the earlier 
culture identified as Mississippian. The preponderance of the evidence 
indicates that the cultural items from the Henry Island phase at 1JA27, 
1JA102, and 1MS55 and the historic period at 1MS91 are culturally 
affiliated with Native Americans descendants of the Koasati/Kaskinampo. 
These descendants include the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 
(previously listed as Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas); Alabama-
Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation.
    Chronicles from Spanish explorers of the 16th century and French 
explorers of the 17th and 18th century indicate the presence of 
chiefdom level tribal entities in the southeastern United States which 
resemble the Mississippian chiefdoms. Linguistic analysis of place

[[Page 51488]]

names noted by multiple Spanish explorers indicates that Koasati 
speaking groups inhabited northeastern Alabama. Early maps and research 
into the historic Native American occupation of northeastern Alabama 
indicates that the Koasati (as called by the English) or the Kaskinampo 
(as called by the French) were found at multiple sites in Jackson and 
Marshall Counties in the 17th and 18th centuries. Oral history, 
traditions, and expert opinions of the descendants of Koasati/
Kaskinampo indicate that this portion of the Tennessee River valley was 
a homeland of their Tribe. The subsequent involuntary diaspora of these 
peoples resulted in descendants of the Koasati/Kaskinampo living among 
multiple Indian Tribes.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

    Officials of the Tennessee Valley Authority have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 24 associated 
funerary 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), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
associated funerary objects listed in this notice and the Alabama-
Coushatta Tribe of Texas (previously listed as Alabama-Coushatta Tribes 
of Texas); Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; 
and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation (hereafter referred to as ``The 
Tribes'').

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Federally-recognized 
Indian Tribe not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of the 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 September 21, 2020. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
associated funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed.
    The Tennessee Valley Authority is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 13, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-18232 Filed 8-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P