[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9905-9906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03237]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035339; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National 
Forests in Alabama, Montgomery, AL

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and

[[Page 9906]]

Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Auburn University and the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Forest Service, National Forests in Alabama (National 
Forests in Alabama) have completed an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects and have determined that there is no 
cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects and any Indian Tribe. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects were removed from Franklin, Lawrence, and Winston Counties, AL.

DATES: Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice may occur on or after March 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Michael Walters, Auburn University, 7030 Haley Center, 
Auburn, AL 36849, telephone (334) 844-5008, email [email protected], 
and Marcus Ridley, United States Forest Service-National Forests in 
Alabama, Supervisor's Office, 2946 Chestnut Street, Montgomery, AL 
36107, telephone (334) 832-4470 Ext.103, 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 responsibilities of 
Auburn University and the National Forests in Alabama. 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 Auburn University and the National Forests in 
Alabama.

Description

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from William B. Bankhead National Forest, 
located in Franklin, Lawrence, and Winston Counties, AL. Precise 
details regarding the location and manner of removal of these human 
remains are unknown. At an unknown date, the human remains were given 
to Dr. John Cottier, a professor of anthropology at Auburn University, 
as a donation to the University. A label accompanying the human remains 
states, ``From a bluff shelter in Bankhead National Forest'' and ``John 
Miner Gift.'' These human remains belong to a juvenile approximately 8-
to-10 years old. The 38 associated funerary objects are 21 lithic 
fragments, 16 ceramic sherds, and one lot of faunal materials.

Aboriginal Land

    The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice 
were removed from a known geographic location. This location is the 
aboriginal land of one or more Indian Tribes. The following information 
was used to identify the aboriginal land: the Treaty with the Chickasaw 
of 1816, the Treaty with the Cherokee of 1816, and the Indian Claims 
Commission (ICC) Findings of Fact from April 4, 1970. The two treaties 
indicate that the land from which the Native American human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of the 
Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Chickasaw 
Nation, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. 
The ICC Findings of Fact indicate that the land from which the human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed is also the 
aboriginal land of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Alabama-
Quassarte Tribal Town, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Kialegee Tribal 
Town, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, 
Seminole Tribe of Florida, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, The Seminole 
Nation of Oklahoma, and the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, Auburn University and 
the National Forests in Alabama have determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The 38 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.
     No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably 
traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects and 
any Indian Tribe.
     The human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the 
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; 
Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians; Kialegee Tribal Town; Miccosukee Tribe of Indians; Poarch Band 
of Creek Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Chickasaw Nation; The 
Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; Thlopthlocco 
Tribal Town; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in 
Oklahoma.

Requests for Disposition

    Written requests for disposition of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for disposition 
may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes 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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land 
Indian Tribe.
    Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after March 17, 
2023. If competing requests for disposition are received, Auburn 
University and the National Forests in Alabama must determine the most 
appropriate requestor prior to disposition. Requests for joint 
disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects are 
considered a single request and not competing requests. Auburn 
University and the National Forests in Alabama are responsible for 
sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes 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 and 
10.11.

    Dated: February 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-03237 Filed 2-14-23; 8:45 am]
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