[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 8309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02630]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035287; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: North Carolina Office of State 
Archaeology, Raleigh, NC

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology 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 North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. 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 North Carolina Office of State 
Archaeology at the address in this notice by March 10, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily McDowell, Office of State 
Archaeology, 215 West Lane Street, Raleigh, NC 27616, telephone (919) 
715-5599, 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 North Carolina 
Office of State Archaeology, Raleigh, NC. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from the Peachtree Mound and 
Village Site (31CE1 and 31CE6) located in Cherokee County, NC.
    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 the human remains was made by the North 
Carolina Office of State Archaeology professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown time, believed to be 1982, human remains 
representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the 
Peachtree Mound and Village site (31CE1 and 31CE6) in Cherokee County, 
NC, by a former North Carolina Office of State Archaeology staff member 
during a visit to the site to investigate extensive damage done to the 
mound and village by pot hunters. This site had been monitored over 
several years by previous staff at the Office of State Archaeology. 
Although the only report on file for these visits, from 1982, does not 
specify whether human remains were recovered, the Office of State 
Archaeology reasonably believes that these human remains were removed 
during that visit. The remains were collected from the surface of the 
site and presumably belong to an adult. No known individuals were 
identified. The 284 associated funerary objects are 225 pottery sherds, 
35 animal bone fragments, 15 shell fragments, seven rocks, one daub, 
and one flake.
    Described as a ``platform mound,'' this site has been excavated 
since the 1870s. The mound is believed to be a ceremonial structure. 
Writing in 1941, Setzler and Jennings identified Peachtree Mound and 
Village as a Woodland-to-Mississippian period site with a historic 
occupation, and noted that, characteristically, it was similar to the 
Cherokee village known as Guasili described by De Soto in 1540. Setzler 
and Jennings also observed that the site's ``spatial centrality, 
combined with its topographic isolation deep in the mountains, makes it 
highly improbable that it was alternately occupied by Cherokee and 
other Indian groups.'' Additionally, several of the pottery sherds have 
been identified as Qualla, a phase specifically associated with 
Cherokee occupation.

Determinations Made by the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology

    Officials of the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology 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(3)(A), the 284 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 Cherokee 
Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band 
of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (hereafter referred to ``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 Emily McDowell, North Carolina Office of 
State Archaeology, 215 West Lane Street, Raleigh, NC 27616, telephone 
(919) 715-5599, email [email protected], by March 10, 2023. 
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 North Carolina Office of State Archaeology is responsible for 
notifying The Tribes and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation that this notice 
has been published.

    Dated: February 1, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-02630 Filed 2-7-23; 8:45 am]
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