[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55479-55481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19693]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030726; 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 Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has 
determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the associated 
funerary objects 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 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 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 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 October 8, 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.

[[Page 55480]]

3003, of the completion of an inventory of associated funerary objects 
under the control of Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN. The 
associated funerary objects were removed from archeological sites in 
Marshall County, 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 associated funerary objects. The National Park Service 
is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the associated funerary objects was made 
by TVA professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe 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; 
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 Associated Funerary Objects

    The three sites listed in this notice--1MS80, 1MS147, 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 the excavation of these sites may be found in ``An 
Archaeological Survey of Guntersville Basin on the Tennessee River in 
Northern Alabama,'' a report by William S. Webb and Charles G. Wilder. 
The associated funerary objects listed in this notice have been in the 
physical custody of the AMNH at the University of Alabama since they 
were excavated.
    Human remains and associated funerary objects from sites 1MS80 and 
1MS147 were listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the 
Federal Register on May 3, 2019 (84 FR 19111-19113, May 3, 2019), and 
human remains and associated funerary objects from site 1MS91 were 
listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on 
September 16, 2016 (81 FR 63793-63795, September 16, 2016). Pursuant to 
43 CFR 10.11(c)(2)(i), all the cultural items listed in those notices 
have been transferred to 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. Recently, five additional associated funerary objects 
removed from these three sites were discovered during the improvement 
of the curation of TVA's archeological collection at AMNH.
    From June to October 1938, excavation took place at the Harris 
site, 1MS80, in Marshall County, AL, following TVA's purchase of the 
site on January 26, 1937. This shell-midden site was excavated through 
trenches and horizontal blocks. 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), and 
Henry Island (A.D. 1200-1500) phases. The one associated funerary 
object is a sandstone geode. The human remains with which it is 
associated could not be assigned to a specific occupation.
    From June 1938 to May 1939, excavation took place at the Columbus 
City Landing site, 1MS91, northeast of the city of Guntersville, in 
Marshall County, AL, following TVA's purchase of the site on March 8, 
1937. Both the village (Unit I) and adjacent mounds (Unit II) were 
investigated. Artifacts recovered from this excavation revealed that 
the primary occupations date to the Middle Woodland (A.D. 100-500), 
Mississippian (A.D. 1200-1500), and historic periods. The three 
associated funerary objects are three Baytown Plain sherds that were 
removed from burial 58, in Unit II. The human remains with which they 
are associated could not be assigned to a specific occupation.
    From January to March 1940, excavation took place at the McDonald 
site, 1MS147, in Marshall County, AL, following TVA's acquisition of 
the site on August 5, 1938. This site was composed of both a village 
and a mound. Although there are no radiocarbon dates from this site, 
the artifacts indicate that it was primarily occupied during the Copena 
phase (A.D. 100-500). The one associated funerary object is a Hamilton 
projectile point that was removed from burial 7. The human remains with 
which it is associated could not be assigned to a specific occupation.

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 five 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 associated 
funerary objects 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 
associated funerary objects 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 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 these cultural items.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(4), the Tennessee Valley 
Authority has agreed to transfer control of the associated funerary 
objects to 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.

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 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 October 
8, 2020. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the associated funerary objects to 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 may proceed.
    The Tennessee Valley Authority is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.


[[Page 55481]]


    Dated: August 3, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-19693 Filed 9-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P