[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47513-47514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18271]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0032455; 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 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 September 24, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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 Coastal Pine 
Meadow region of Mississippi, in Hancock County, MS.
    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

[[Page 47514]]

Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; 
Jena Band of Choctaw 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

    On June 11, 2020, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual was removed from Hancock County, MS. The individual was 
discovered during maintenance dredging of the navigation channel at the 
mouth of Bayou Cadet, which flows into the Bay of Saint Louis. The U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, which oversaw the dredging, retained control 
of the human remains until May of 2021, when it transferred them to the 
Mississippi Department of Archives and History. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has determined 
that the remains of this individual are Native American through the 
geographical and archeological circumstances of their discovery, as 
well as through the observance of biological markers that are 
consistent with Native American ancestry. According to the geographical 
and archeological evidence, the individual was removed within 500 feet 
of the Lakeshore Midden Site (22HA502), which dates within the Woodland 
Period (A.D. 1000). Evaluation of the skeletal elements by the 
Mississippi State Medical Examiner's office concluded that they bore 
biological markers consistent with Native American ancestry. The 
present-day Indian Tribes affiliated with the earlier group connected 
to these human remains 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 one individual 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 
September 24, 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: August 11, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-18271 Filed 8-24-21; 8:45 am]
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