[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52176-52177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20264]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0032606; 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 (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 October 20, 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 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 six sites in Tunica 
County, Mississippi.
    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.

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; 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

    Beginning in 1971, human remains representing, at minimum, 11 
individuals were removed from the following sites in Tunica County, MS: 
Beaver Dam (22TU513), Canon (22TU523), Clay Ball (22TU600), Martin #2 
(22TU534), Parker-McClintock (22TU594), and Sledge (22TU510). The human 
remains belong to individuals of unidentified sex and age. No known 
individuals were identified. Associated funerary objects were removed 
from the Canon, Parker-McClintock, and Sledge sites. The 15 associated 
funerary objects are three lots of ceramic sherds, one lot of ceramic 
vessels, one lot of charcoal, one lot of clay beads, one lot of daub,

[[Page 52177]]

two lots of faunal bones, one lot of fired clay, two lots of lithic 
debitage, one lot metal, one lot pit fill, and one lot of unworked 
stone.
    The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has determined 
that the human remains 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 
Mississippian cultures that are indigenous to these areas of 
Mississippi. Present day Indian Tribes associated 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 11 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 15 associated 
funerary 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 October 20, 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: September 7, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-20264 Filed 9-17-21; 8:45 am]
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