[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55476-55477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19697]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030724; 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 and Native Hawaiian organizations, and has 
determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the associated 
funerary objects and any

[[Page 55477]]

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. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of associated funerary 
objects under the control of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, 
TN. The associated funerary objects were removed from site 1MA48 in 
Madison 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 Native American 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 
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; 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; 
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

    The site listed in this notice was excavated as part of TVA's 
Wheeler Reservoir Project by the Alabama Museum of Natural History 
(AMNH) at the University of Alabama, using labor provided by the Civil 
Works Administration, a precursor to the Works Progress Administration. 
Details regarding the excavation of this site may be found in The Flint 
River Site, MA48, a report by William S. Webb and David L. DeJarnette. 
The associated funerary objects excavated from the site 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 1MA48 were the subject of two previous Notices of 
Inventory Completion's published in the Federal Register (81 FR 60380-
60381, September 1, 2016 and 84 FR 38055-38056, August 5, 2019). All 
the cultural items listed in those notices have been transferred to The 
Chickasaw Nation. Recently, missing funerary objects removed from site 
1MA48 were discovered during the improvement of the curation of TVA's 
archeological collection at AMNH.
    From June to December 1938, excavations took place at the Flint 
River site, 1MA48, in Madison County, AL. Excavation commenced after 
TVA had acquired the two parcels of land encompassing site 1MA48 on 
November 11, 1935 and July 3, 1936. Excavations revealed multiple 
occupations, including the Late Archaic (4000-1000 B.C.) period, 
Colbert (300 B.C.-A.D. 100), Flint River (A.D. 500-1000), and the early 
Mississippian Langston phase (A.D. 900-1200). The 61 associated 
funerary objects listed in this notice include 46 shell beads, one bone 
awl, 12 polished and incised antler fragments, and two bone tools.

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 61 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 associated funerary objects.
     The Treaty of September 20, 1816, indicates that the land 
from which the Native American human remains were removed is the 
aboriginal land of 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 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 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 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. 2020-19697 Filed 9-4-20; 8:45 am]
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