[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77190-77191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21540]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038737; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Disposition: U.S. Department of Agriculture 
Forest Service, Cherokee National Forest, Cleveland, 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 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest 
Service, Cherokee National Forest intends to carry out the disposition 
of human remains and associated funerary objects removed from Federal 
or Tribal lands to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribe, or Native 
Hawaiian organization with priority for disposition in this notice.

DATES: Disposition of the human remains and cultural items in this 
notice may occur on or after October 21, 2024. If no claim for 
disposition is received by September 22, 2025, the human remains and 
cultural items in this notice will become unclaimed human remains or 
cultural items.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Danielle Shelton, Heritage Program Manager, USDA Forest 
Service, Cherokee National Forest, 2800 Ocoee Street North, Cleveland, 
TN 37312, telephone (423) 582-6059, email [email protected].

[[Page 77191]]


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 
Cherokee National Forest, and additional information on the human 
remains and cultural items in this notice, including the results of 
consultation, can be found in the related records. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the identifications in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, one individual has been reasonably identified. The 2,036 
associated funerary objects are beads, pottery, faunal remains, 
botanical remains, charcoal, soil, floatation materials, and 
unidentified materials. Lake Hole Burial Cave (40JN159), located in 
Johnson County, Tennessee, was the site of protohistoric Cherokee cave 
burials, dated between 1550-1650 CE, that were discovered and looted by 
grave robbers in the spring of 1990. Nine men were prosecuted under the 
Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) and a minimum number of 
100 individuals were recovered. Afterwards the Cherokee National Forest 
installed a locked gate on the cave entrance, but on October 16, 2006, 
two men entered the cave illegally and disturbed two more individual 
burials. Although the human remains from Lake Hole Burial Cave were 
repatriated in 2009, there are two teeth and one small bone that were 
overlooked during repatriation, as well as the associated funerary 
objects.

Determinations

    The Cherokee National Forest has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The 2,036 objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony.
     The Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and 
the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma have priority 
for disposition of the human remains and cultural item described in 
this notice.

Claims for Disposition

    Written claims for disposition of the human remains and cultural 
items in this notice must be sent to the appropriate official 
identified in this notice under ADDRESSES. If no claim for disposition 
is received by September 22, 2025, the human remains and cultural items 
in this notice will become unclaimed human remains and cultural items. 
Claims for disposition may be submitted by:
    1. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization 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 they have priority for disposition.
    Disposition of the human remains and cultural items in this notice 
may occur on or after October 21, 2024. If competing claims for 
disposition are received, the Forest Service must determine the most 
appropriate claimant prior to disposition. Requests for joint 
disposition of the human remains or cultural items are considered a 
single request and not competing requests. The Forest Service is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the lineal 
descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations 
identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3002, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.7.

    Dated: September 12, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-21540 Filed 9-19-24; 8:45 am]
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