[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55487-55488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19695]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030728; 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. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects were removed from archeological site 40HS44 in Humphreys 
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 the TVA 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

    During March 3-29, 1942, human remains representing, at minimum, 21 
individuals were removed from 40HS44, the Hobbs site, in Humphreys 
County, TN. The site 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. The human remains belong to 12 
adults and nine sub-adults. Six individuals were female and three were 
male; the sex of the other twelve could not be identified. No known 
individuals were identified. The 55 associated funerary objects include 
three animal bone fragments, one animal bone projectile point, one 
animal bone scraper, one antler point, one femur caput, two lithic 
debitage, 39 ceramic bottle sherds, two ceramic jars, one lithic 
projectile point, and four shell fragments. These human remains and 
associated funerary objects have been in the physical custody of the 
University of

[[Page 55488]]

Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) since they were excavated.
    Details regarding the excavations at 40HS44 have never been 
published, and no field report could be found at UTK. The state site 
form indicates that the Hobbs site was a shell mound of 1.5 acres in 
extent. Excavation maps indicate that the site was bisected by 
perpendicular trenches to identify its stratigraphy. Small excavation 
units were extended off the trenches to help define features. One 
rectangular wall trench structure was identified during the excavation. 
Designated house 1, this structure was 20 x 16 feet. Individual post 
molds were 3-4 inches in diameter and placed within the wall trench. A 
specific floor of this structure could not be identified. There are no 
radiocarbon dates for this site, but the wall-trench structure and 
recovered pottery vessels suggest a Mississippian occupation.

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 55 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.
     According to final judgements of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the U.S. 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. The Tennessee Valley Authority has agreed to transfer control 
of the human remains 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 object 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. 2020-19695 Filed 9-4-20; 8:45 am]
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