[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42206-42207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15042]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034195; 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: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Mississippi Department of Archives and 
History (MDAH) has completed an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
multiple counties in Mississippi.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after August 15, 2022.

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: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
MDAH. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice. Additional information on the 
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the inventory or related records held by the MDAH.

Description

    In 1961 and 1965, human remains representing, at minimum, nine 
individuals were removed from 22LA509 and 22LA517 during excavations 
conducted by the University of Mississippi in Lafayette County, MS. 
These collections were transferred to MDAH on July 30, 2021. The six 
associated funerary objects are two lots of ceramics, two lots lithic 
material, one lot of charcoal, and one lot of faunal remains.
    Before 1990, human remains representing, at minimum, six 
individuals were removed during excavations by the University of 
Mississippi (22LE519) and the Mississippi Department of Transportation 
(22LE?) from Lee County, MS. These collections were transferred to MDAH 
on July 30, 2021, and May 4, 2022. The one associated funerary object 
is one lot of shell.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Panola County, MS. The individual was 
transferred to MDAH on July 30, 2021. The one associated funerary 
object is one lot of faunal remains.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual was removed from 22PO552 in Pontotoc County, MS. Skeletal 
elements in the foot have possible copper staining. The two associated

[[Page 42207]]

funerary objects are one lot of metal and one lot of wood.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from 22PS101 in Prentiss County, MS. The one 
associated funerary object is one lot of shell.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, six 
individuals were removed from 22QU501, 502, 531, and 570 in Quitman 
County, MS. These collections were transferred to MDAH on July 30, 
2021. The seven associated funerary objects are two lots of burial 
matrix, two lots of faunal remains, one lot of ceramics, one lot of 
fired clay, and one lot of shell.
    In or around 1964 and at an unknown date, human remains 
representing, at minimum, 17 individuals were removed from 22YA500 and 
an unknown site in Yalobusha County, MS. The eight associated funerary 
objects are two lots of ceramics, one lot of daub, one lot of fossils, 
two lots of lithic materials, one lot of unidentified clay, and one lot 
of faunal remains.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice 
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, Tribes, 
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity 
between the identifiable earlier groups, Tribes, peoples, or cultures 
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The 
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: archeological information, biological information, and 
geographical information.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the MDAH has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 41 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 26 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and 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; 
The Osage Nation (previously listed as Osage Tribe); and the Tunica-
Biloxi Indian Tribe.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation 
may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal 
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after August 15, 2022. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the MDAH must 
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The MDAH is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this 
notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: July 6, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-15042 Filed 7-13-22; 8:45 am]
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