[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29946-29947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09765]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035803; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Alabama Department of 
Transportation, Montgomery, AL

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 Alabama Department of Transportation 
(ALDOT) 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 
Montgomery County, AL.

[[Page 29947]]


DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after June 8, 2023.

ADDRESSES: William B. Turner, Alabama Department of Transportation, 
1409 Coliseum Boulevard, Montgomery, AL 36110, telephone (334) 242-
6144, 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 
Alabama Department of Transportation. 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 Alabama Department of Transportation.

Description

    In 2002, human remains representing, at minimum, six individuals 
were removed from the Madison Park Site, 1Mt318, in Montgomery County, 
AL, by University of South Alabama Center for Archaeological Studies 
archeologists under contract with ALDOT. The human remains were removed 
during Phase III Data Recovery excavations prior to road widening and 
bridge replacement of US 231. Based on analysis of material cultural 
remains recovered from 1Mt318, the site is considered a Late Woodland 
Village occupied during the Dead River (A.D. 500-700), Hope Hull (A.D. 
700-900), and Autauga (A.D. 800-1100) Phases. These human remains, 
together with the associated funerary objects are stored at the 
University of Alabama Office of Archaeological Research (OAR) at 
Moundville, AL. No known individuals were identified. The 10 associated 
funerary objects are six lots of burial fill, two large animal teeth, 
and two freshwater mussel shells.

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 type of information was used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: geographical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Alabama Department of Transportation has determined 
that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 10 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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

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 June 8, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Alabama 
Department of Transportation 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 Alabama Department of 
Transportation is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the 
Indian Tribe 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: May 3, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-09765 Filed 5-8-23; 8:45 am]
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