[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 13 (Friday, January 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6667-6668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01340]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0031329; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Mississippi Department of 
Archives and History, Jackson, MS; Correction

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) has 
completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal 
descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization 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 Mississippi Department 
of Archives and History. If no additional requestors come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian 
organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization 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 Mississippi Department of Archives and 
History at the address in this notice by February 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Meg Cook, Director of Archaeology Collections, Mississippi 
Department of Archives and History, Museum Division, 222 North Street, 
P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205, telephone (601) 576-6927, 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 Mississippi 
Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from the region of Mississippi 
north of the Yazoo and Yalobusha Rivers including DeSoto, Clay, 
Lafayette, Monroe, Panola, Pontotoc, Quitman, Tate, Tunica, Union, and 
Webster counties.
    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 human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
    This notice corrects the minimum number of individuals previously 
reported in a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal 
Register on April 13, 2018 (83 FR 16121-16123, April 13, 2018); 
additional human remains were discovered after publication and 207 
individuals are hereby corrected to 403 individuals. This notice 
corrects the number of funerary objects reported in the prior notice 
from 50 associated funerary objects to 83 lots of funerary objects. 
Additional information received during ongoing consultations 
successfully affiliated all listed individuals previously identified as 
culturally unidentifiable. The notice published in 2018 included the 
following counties: Clay, DeSoto, Panola, and Tunica; this notice 
contains additional counties not previously reported including: 
Lafayette, Monroe, Pontotoc, Quitman, Tate, Union, and Webster. 
Transfer of control of the items in this correction notice has not 
occurred.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of human remains was made by the Mississippi 
Department of Archives and History 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; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of 
Cherokee Indians; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Mississippi Band of Choctaw 
Indians; Quapaw Nation (previously listed as The Quapaw Tribe of 
Indians); The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The 
Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and The Osage Nation (previously listed as 
Osage Tribe) (hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    Prior to 1965, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from an unspecified location in Northeast 
Mississippi. The individuals came into MDAH's possession in 1964 by way 
of donation from R. DeMar Whitfield. No known individuals were 
identified. The one associated funerary object is one lot of ceramic 
sherds.
    MDAH has determined that these human remains are Native American 
through circumstances of acquisition and observation of biological 
markers consistent with this ancestry. Circumstances of acquisition 
show that these human remains are affiliated with the pre-contact 
Woodland cultures that are indigenous to this region of Mississippi. 
Present day Indian Tribes associated with pre-contact Woodland cultures 
include, but are not limited to, The Tribes.
    Up to 1991, human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed from the following counties in Mississippi: Clay, Desoto, 
Lafayette, Monroe, Panola, Pontotoc, Quitman, Tate, Tunica, Union, and 
Webster. The following information regarding these individuals is 
organized by county.
    In June 1990, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from the Brogan Village (22CL501b) site in 
Clay County, MS. No known individuals were identified. The three 
associated funerary objects are one lot of ceramic sherds, one lot of 
lithics, and one lot of soil matrix.
    Beginning in 1962, human remains representing, at minimum, 76 
individuals were removed from the following sites in DeSoto County, MS: 
Cheatham (22DS514), Dogwood Ridge (22DS511), Edgefield Mounds 
(22DS509), Harris (22DS504), Irby (22DS516), Lake Cormorant (22DS501), 
McKay's Store (22DS506), Migva (22DS526), Shannon #2 (22DS519), Walls 
(22DS500), Walls/Harris (22DS500/504), Woodlyn (22DS517) sites, and an 
unknown site. No known individuals were identified. The three 
associated funerary objects, removed from the Edgefield Mounds site, 
are one lot of ceramic sherds, one lot of ceramic vessels, and one lot 
of soil matrix.
    At an unknown time prior to 1965, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location in 
Lafayette County, MS. No known individual was

[[Page 6668]]

identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an undetermined time, human remains representing, at minimum, 
two individuals were removed from the Turner (22MO923) site in Monroe 
County, MS. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In the late 1960s, human remains representing, at minimum, 11 
individuals were removed from McCarter Mounds (22PA502) and Dugger 
Bluff (22PA587) sites in Panola County, MS. No known individuals were 
identified. The eight associated funerary objects are: One lot of 
ceramic sherds, one lot of charcoal, one lot of copper pan pipes, one 
lot of faunal bone remains, one lot of lithics, two lots of soil 
matrix, and one lot of shell fragments.
    At an undetermined date before 1962, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location in 
Pontotoc County, MS. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Beginning in the 1960s, human remains representing, at minimum, 87 
individuals were removed from Shady Grove (22QU525) and Tom Harris 
Mounds (22QU574) sites in Quitman County, MS. No known individuals were 
identified. The 12 associated funerary objects include: One lot of bone 
awls, one lot of botanical remains, one lot of ceramic sherds, one lot 
of ceramic vessels, one lot charcoal, one lot faunal bone remains, one 
lot of pit fill, one lot of limonite, one lot of lithics, one lot of 
shell, one lot of soil matrix, and one lot of vessel contents.
    At an undetermined time, human remains representing, at minimum, 
one individual were removed from an unknown location in Tate County, 
MS. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    Beginning in 1966, human remains representing, at minimum, 216 
individuals were removed from the following sites in Tunica County: 
Austin (22TU549), Bonds Village (22TU530), Boyd (22TU531), Dundee 
Mounds (22TU501), Evansville (22TU502), Flowers #3 (22TU518), Hollywood 
Mounds (22TU500), Jepson (22TU522), Mhoon Landing (22TU514), and 
Norflett Mound (22TU519). No known individuals were identified. The 56 
associated funerary objects are: One lot of bird talons, two lots of 
bone awl, one lot of bone needles, two lots of botanical material, one 
lot of celts, two lots of ceramic vessels, six lots of ceramic sherds, 
three lots of charcoal, one lot of clay beads, one lot of coprolites, 
two lot of daub, one lot ear plugs, five lots of faunal bone fragments, 
one lot flotation samples, one lot fired clay, one lot of hammerstones, 
one lot of historic glass, two lots of historic metal, four lots of 
lithics, one lot of lithic bifaces, two lots of modified faunal bone, 
one lot of otoliths, two lots of projectile points, two lots of shell, 
one lot of shell beads, one lot of shell gorgets, three lots of soil 
matrix, two lots of unmodified stone, two lots of water-screened pit 
fill, and one lot of wolf teeth.
    In 1964, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from the Ingomar Mounds (22UN500) site in Union County, 
MS. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    In the 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the G.H. Holland Mound (22WE502) site in 
Webster County, MS. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has determined 
that the human remains of each of these individuals are Native American 
through the circumstances of acquisition, as well as through the 
observance of biological markers consistent with this ancestry. The 
circumstances of acquisition, including excavation notes and associated 
funerary objects, show that these human remains are affiliated with the 
multiple cultures that are indigenous to these areas of Mississippi. 
Individuals and associated funerary objects from the Archaic cultural 
period are represented in sites from DeSoto, Monroe, Panola, Tunica, 
and Quitman Counties. Individuals and associated funerary objects from 
the Woodland cultural period are represented in sites from Clay, 
Lafayette, Panola, Quitman, Tunica, and Webster Counties. Individuals 
and associated funerary objects from the Mississippian cultural period 
are represented in sites from DeSoto, Quitman, Tunica, and Union 
Counties. The unknown Pontotoc and Tate County sites are not associated 
with a specified period of occupation, but have been determined to be 
Native American in ancestry.
    Present day Indian Tribes associated with these cultures include, 
but are not limited to The Tribes.

Determinations Made by the Mississippi Department of Archives and 
History

    Officials of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History 
have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 403 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 83 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 Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects and The Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization 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 Meg Cook, Director of Archaeology 
Collections, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Museum 
Division, 222 North Street, P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205, telephone 
(601) 576-6927, email [email protected], by February 22, 2021. After 
that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The 
Tribes may proceed.
    The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is responsible 
for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: January 5, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-01340 Filed 1-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P