[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 71 (Thursday, April 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19900-19901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07698]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0031674; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


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

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has 
completed an inventory of human remains, 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 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 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 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

[[Page 19901]]

human remains 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 May 17, 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 under 
the control of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 
Jackson, MS. The human remains were removed from the Delta region of 
Mississippi along the Mississippi River, and from Northeast Mississippi 
in the Tombigbee Hills region, including DeSoto, Lee, and Tunica 
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. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of human remains was made by the Mississippi 
Department of Archives and History professional staff in consultation 
with representatives from 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

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, four 
individuals were removed from the following sites in DeSoto County, MS, 
and subsequently transferred from the CH Nash Museum at Chucalissa: 
``22DE526 or 527'' and ``From box 22DS501, 22DS513, 22DS512.'' No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, nine 
individuals were removed from the following sites in Lee County, MS: 
22Le3, Thompson Place (22Le6), Martin Place (22Le7), 22Le10, 22Le11, 
22Le13, 22Le18, 22Le21, and Meadowbrook (22LE912). No known individuals 
were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, three 
individuals were removed from the following sites in Tunica County, MS, 
and subsequently transferred from the CH Nash Museum at Chucalissa: 
Commerce (22TU504) and West/Hood Mounds (22TU520). No known individuals 
were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has determined 
that the 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 other material culture from 
these collections, show that these human remains are affiliated with 
indigenous people in these areas of Mississippi. Individuals from 
DeSoto and Tunica counties are representative of the Woodland and 
Mississippian periods. Individuals from Lee County are representative 
of Proto-Historic period sites. Present day Indian Tribes affiliated 
with these cultures include 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 16 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     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 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 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 May 17, 
2021. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains 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: April 6, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-07698 Filed 4-14-21; 8:45 am]
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