[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 24504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07357]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037670; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Florida Department of 
Transportation, Tallahassee, FL

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 Florida Department of Transportation has 
completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there 
is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes 
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after May 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Jennifer Marshall, Florida Department of Transportation, 605 
Suwannee Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399, telephone (850) 414-4316, 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 
Florida Department of Transportation, and additional information on the 
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the inventory or related records. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, six individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. Excavations were conducted in 1992 prior 
to a FDOT bridge replacement project along SR A1A on Matanzas Inlet in 
St. Johns County Florida. Fourteen burials were identified during the 
original project and pathological analysis was conducted by Dr. Lisa 
Hoshower from the University of Florida. It was believed that all of 
the associated remains had been repatriated in 1997, however an ongoing 
collections and curation project at FDOT has identified additional 
remains from six of the fourteen burials that were separated from the 
original collection and, therefore, not repatriated.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains described in this notice.

Determinations

    The Florida Department of Transportation has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the 
Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this 
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this 
notice under 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 in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after May 8, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, the Florida Department of Transportation must determine 
the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for 
joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request 
and not competing requests. The Florida Department of Transportation 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 10.10.

    Dated: March 22, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-07357 Filed 4-5-24; 8:45 am]
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