82 FR 25623 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Ocmulgee National Monument, GA

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 105 (June 2, 2017)

The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Ocmulgee National Monument, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request to Ocmulgee National Monument. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural items to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 105 (Friday, June 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25623-25624]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11452]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23207; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of 
the Interior, National Park Service, Ocmulgee National Monument, GA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 
Ocmulgee National Monument, in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the 
cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of 
unassociated funerary objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of 
any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this 
notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written 
request to Ocmulgee National Monument. If no additional claimants come 
forward, transfer of control of the cultural items to the lineal 
descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in 
this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to Ocmulgee National Monument at 
the address in this notice by July 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Jim David, Superintendent, Ocmulgee National Monument, 1207 
Emery Highway, Macon, GA 31217, telephone (478) 752-8257, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 
Ocmulgee National Monument, Macon, GA, that meet the definition of 
unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
Superintendent, Ocmulgee National Monument.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    Between 1933 and 1938, 436 cultural items were removed from Lamar 
Mounds and Village in Bibb County, GA, during legally authorized 
projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration. The human 
remains were repatriated to culturally affiliated tribes in 2015 by the 
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History. The 436 
unassociated funerary objects are 3 awls, 25 beads, 1 bag of beads, 1 
blade, 1 burin, 3 celts, 1 piece of fired clay, 1 piece of daub, 4 
discoidals, 2 earplugs, 24 flakes, 2 animal bones, 5 shells, 1 gorget, 
1 jar, 1 projectile point, 3 scrapers, 1 worked shell, 7 soil samples, 
1 flake tool, and 348 vessel fragments.
    The Lamar Mounds and Village site consists of two mounds, A and B, 
and a palisaded village area. Archeological evidence indicates that the 
Lamar Mounds and Village site was occupied during the entire Middle and 
Late Mississippian periods (A.D. 1200-1650). The regional manifestation 
of archeological resources from the Mississippian period has been 
identified as the Lamar Culture. Archeological evidence indicates that 
the Lamar Culture ceramic types found at Lamar Mounds and Village are 
closely related to historic Creek and Cherokee ceramic traditions.
    The Lamar site is also believed to be the town of Ichisi (Spanish) 
or Ochisi (Portuguese) encountered by the Hernando de Soto expedition 
in 1540. Occupation of the site may have continued into the early 18th 
century. Between A.D. 1685 and 1717, the English used variations of the 
name Ochesehatchee or Ochese Creek to refer to the river later called 
the Ocmulgee River. The towns and people living along Ochese Creek 
during that period were referred to as the Ochese (various spellings) 
Creek Nation, the Ochese Creek people, and, finally, simply the Creeks. 
The word Ochese and its variations has been traced from middle Georgia 
to the Chattahoochee River, then to Florida, and finally to Oklahoma. A 
squareground of this name existed in Oklahoma until the 1950s. There is 
an Ochese Street in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Ethnohistorical information 
indicates that the Ichisi-Ochese were probably Hitchiti speakers, which 
would link them directly to Hitchiti speakers among the later Seminole 
and Miccosukee tribes. The Ichisi-Ochese may also be linked less 
directly to speakers of closely related Alabama and Koasati languages 
among the latter-day Alabama and Coushatta tribes.

Determinations Made by Ocmulgee National Monument

    Officials of Ocmulgee National Monument have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 436 cultural items 
described above 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 and are believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native 
American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 
(previously listed as the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas), Alabama-
Quassarte Tribal Town, Cherokee Nation, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Kialegee Tribal Town, Miccosukee 
Tribe of Indians, Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the 
Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama), Seminole Tribe of Florida 
(previously listed as the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Dania, Big 
Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & Tampa Reservations)), The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation, The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Thlopthlocco Tribal 
Town, and United Keetowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request with information 
in support of the claim to Jim David, Superintendent, Ocmulgee

[[Page 25624]]

National Monument, 1207 Emery Highway, Macon, GA 31217, telephone (478) 
752-8257, email [email protected], by July 3, 2017. After that date, if 
no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the 
unassociated funerary objects to Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 
(previously listed as the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas), Alabama-
Quassarte Tribal Town, Cherokee Nation, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Kialegee Tribal Town, Miccosukee 
Tribe of Indians, Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the 
Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama), Seminole Tribe of Florida 
(previously listed as the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Dania, Big 
Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & Tampa Reservations)), The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation, The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Thlopthlocco Tribal 
Town, and United Keetowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma may 
proceed.
    Ocmulgee National Monument is responsible for notifying the 
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe 
of Texas (previously listed as the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas), 
Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Catawba Indian Nation (aka Catawba Tribe 
of South Carolina), Cherokee Nation, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, 
Kialegee Tribal Town, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians, Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the Poarch 
Band of Creek Indians of Alabama), Seminole Tribe of Florida 
(previously listed as the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Dania, Big 
Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & Tampa Reservations)), Shawnee Tribe, The 
Chickasaw Nation, The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, The Muscogee (Creek) 
Nation, The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, and 
United Keetowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that this notice 
has been published.

    Dated: April 3, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-11452 Filed 6-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P