[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34290-34291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12110]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033984; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Tennessee Valley 
Authority, Knoxville, TN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has 
determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the 
definition of sacred objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of 
any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this 
notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written 
request to the TVA. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer 
of control of the cultural items 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 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the TVA at the address in this 
notice by July 6, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marianne Shuler, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11C, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, 
telephone (865) 253-1265, 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. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN, that meet the 
definition of sacred objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    Between 1989 and November of 1990, cultural items were removed from 
Dust Cave, site 1LU496, in Lauderdale County, AL. Dust Cave is situated 
on a bluff adjacent to the right descending bank of the Tennessee River 
inside TVA's Pickwick Reservoir. The cave was recorded in the 1980s by 
Richard Cobb following exploration by local speleologists. A subsequent 
evaluation of caves adjacent to Pickwick Reservoir verified that Dust 
Cave had a human habitation of considerable antiquity. Dust Cave was 
the focus of excavations by the University of Alabama from 1989 to 
2002. The two sacred objects are one lot of dog remains and one lot of 
lithics.
    Based on oral traditional information provided during consultation 
with The Chickasaw Nation about the role of the white dog Ofi' Tohbi 
Ishto' in the Chickasaw Migration story and the need of The Chickasaw 
Nation to venerate these animals alongside ancestral remains in current 
day reburial practices, TVA has determined that the dog remains and the 
lithics are sacred objects.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

    Officials of the Tennessee Valley Authority have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(C), the two cultural items 
described above are specific ceremonial objects needed by traditional 
Native American religious leaders for the practice of traditional 
Native American religions by their present-day adherents.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the sacred 
objects and the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and 
The Chickasaw Nation (hereafter referred to as ``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 claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request with information 
in support of the claim to Ms. Marianne Shuler, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11C, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, 
telephone (865) 253-1265, email [email protected], by July 6, 2022.

[[Page 34291]]

After that date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer 
of control of the sacred objects to The Tribes may proceed.
    The Tennessee Valley Authority is responsible for notifying The 
Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: May 25, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-12110 Filed 6-3-22; 8:45 am]
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