[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55489-55490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19694]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030725; 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 Indian Tribes, and has determined 
that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and 
associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribes. 
Representatives of any 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 Indian Tribe 
stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Representatives of any 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 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. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the Tennessee Valley 
Authority, Knoxville, TN, and stored at the McClung Museum of Natural 
History and Culture (MM) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. 
The human remains and associated funerary objects were excavated from 
site 40BN77, also known as the McDaniel archeological site, in Benton 
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 and associated funerary 
objects was made by TVA professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation; The Osage Nation (previously listed as Osage Tribe); 
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 Remains

    Site 40BN77 was excavated as part of TVA's Kentucky Reservoir 
project by the University of Tennessee, using labor and funds provided 
by the Works Progress Administration. Details regarding these 
excavations have not been published. A field report by Douglas Osborn 
regarding this site can be found at the MM and TVA. The human remains 
and associated funerary objects listed in this notice have been in the 
physical custody of the University of Tennessee since excavation, but 
they are under the control of the TVA.
    From June to August 1941, human remains representing, at minimum, 
21 individuals were removed from site 40BN77, in Benton County, TN. 
These human remains represent seven females, two males, and 12 
individuals of undeterminable sex. They represent primarily adults. No 
known individuals were identified. The 116 associated funerary objects 
include five antler adzes, one antler projectile point, four bone awls, 
two blades, 39 animal bones, two animal mandibles, one ceramic sherd, 
three dog burials, two drills, 10 projectile points, two samples of red 
ochre, and 45 fragments of a turtle shell pendant.
    Excavation at 40BN77 commenced after TVA had acquired the land on

[[Page 55490]]

September 26, 1940. Douglas Osborne did not intend to do large scale 
excavations at 40BN77, and therefore did not excavate test trenches 
before opening excavation squares. Two strata were defined below the 
plow zone. Osborne indicates that ``Stratum I was a dark red brown to 
black humic band varying around one foot, but rather more than less, in 
thickness.'' Stratum II was not as thick. Osborne describe it as ``. . 
. a thinned mixture of Stratum I.''
    In his 2014 dissertation, Thaddeus Bissett presented two 
radiocarbon dates from this site, 4474  66 BP and 4243 
 90 BP. According to Bissett, the available evidence 
indicates that the primary occupation was from the Late Archaic to the 
Early Woodland.

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 21 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 116 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 Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day 
Indian Tribe.
     The Treaty of October 19, 1818, 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 Chickasaw Nation.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(4), the Tennessee Valley 
Authority has agreed to transfer control of the associated funerary 
objects to The Chickasaw Nation.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any 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 October 
8, 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: August 3, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-19694 Filed 9-4-20; 8:45 am]
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