[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73436-73437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20300]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038656; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of 
Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN

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 Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA) has completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has 
determined in consultation that there is a cultural affiliation between 
the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 10, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Phillip R. Hodge, Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA), 1216 Foster Avenue, 
Cole Building #3, Nashville, TN 37243, telephone (615) 626-2025, 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 
TDEC-DOA, and additional information on the determinations in this 
notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in its 
inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Human remains representing at minimum 39 individuals and associated 
funerary objects (AFO) consisting of one lot of faunal material.

Hampton Place (40HA146), Moccasin Bend, Hamilton County, Tennessee

    Ancestral remains of at minimum 37 individuals were recovered from 
disturbed and looted contexts by the Chattanooga Regional 
Anthropological Association in 1982, transferred to TDEC-DOA in 1984, 
and subsequently housed at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga from 
1991-2007. For unknown reasons, the ancestral remains were temporarily 
transferred to the Hamilton County Medical Examiner in 2007 and then 
returned to TDEC-DOA that same year. A single lot of associated faunal 
material is commingled with the ancestral remains, and at the request 
of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was not inventoried for the 
purposes of this notice. Consultation took place on May 24, June 6, and 
June 24, 2024. There is no known exposure to hazardous substances or 
treatments.

Unknown Sites, Moccasin Bend, Hamilton County, Tennessee

    Ancestral remains of at minimum two individuals recovered from 
unknown

[[Page 73437]]

proveniences on Moccasin Bend, Hamilton County, Tennessee. One ancestor 
was recovered by the Hamilton County Medical Examiner near the Blue 
Blazes Trail and transferred to the TDEC-DOA for repatriation in August 
2020. A second individual was recovered by a private individual along 
the Tennessee River bankline near the Moccasin Bend Archaeological 
District and turned over to the Hamilton County Medical Examiner, later 
transferred to the National Park Service Law Enforcement at Chickamauga 
National Military Park, and transferred to the DOA for repatriation in 
August 2019. Consultation took place on May 24, June 6, and June 24, 
2024. In consultation on May 24, 2024 TDEC-DOA suggested that these 
ancestors be included in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' 2021 
claim for the ancestors from 40HA146. All consulting Nations agreed to 
this course of action. There is no known exposure to hazardous 
substances or treatments.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    TDEC-DOA have determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of at minimum 39 individuals of Native American 
ancestry;
     The one lot of objects described in this inventory are 
reasonably believed to be directly or indirectly mortuary related;
     There is a connection between the human remains and 
objects from Hamilton County described in this notice and the Cherokee 
Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; 
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 
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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 
10, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, TDEC-DOA 
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. TDEC-DOA 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: August 29, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-20300 Filed 9-9-24; 8:45 am]
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