[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 119 (Thursday, June 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40859-40860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13309]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036076; 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: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the North Carolina Office of State 
Archaeology 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 Jackson 
and Swain Counties, NC.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after July 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Emily McDowell, Office of State Archaeology, 215 West Lane 
Street, Raleigh, NC 27616, telephone (919) 715-5599, 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 
North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. 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 North Carolina Office of State Archaeology.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from Jackson County, NC. In 1992, these human remains were 
recovered during a salvage excavation conducted by Dr. David Moore, who 
was employed at the Office of State Archaeology. The excavation was 
conducted in response to the unanticipated discovery of significant 
archeological features during the construction of the K-8 Cullowhee 
Valley School. As a result, archeological sites 31JK32 and 31JK270 were 
registered. The archeological context of

[[Page 40860]]

these individuals is unclear. We do not know whether they were 
recovered from the Connestee phase component (ca. 200-600 CE) or the 
Late Woodland component (ca. 800-1000 CE). The latter component is 
characterized by Napier-style pottery, which is associated with 
Muskogean presence or influence. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, 11 individuals were removed 
from Swain County, NC. In 1990, these human remains were excavated from 
the Ela Site, 31SW5, by Western Carolina University, during a survey 
for the East Elementary School. The human remains are associated with 
the Cherokee Qualla Phase occupation of the site, with some of the 
individuals being removed from a Qualla Phase structure. Following the 
excavation, the human remains were transferred to Wake Forest 
University in Winston Salem, NC, for analysis, and in 2010, they were 
transferred to the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. No known 
individuals were identified. The 4,056 associated funerary objects are 
1,591 pieces of fired clay, 1,048 flakes, 555 pottery sherds, 375 
faunal elements, 316 pieces of shatter, 19 projectile points/projectile 
point fragments, 98 unworked items (such as mica), 12 charcoal samples, 
nine cobbles, six beads, 10 cores, five wedges, three polishers, two 
hammerstones, two bifaces, one spokeshave, one ceramic disc, one gaming 
stone, one soapstone sherd, and one shell gorget.

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, geographical, historical, and oral 
traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology has 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 13 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 4,056 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 Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band 
of Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians 
in Oklahoma.

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 July 24, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the North Carolina 
Office of State Archaeology 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 North Carolina Office of State 
Archaeology is 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, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: June 14, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-13309 Filed 6-21-23; 8:45 am]
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