82 FR 41985 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 170 (September 5, 2017)

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate federally recognized Indian Tribes, and has determined that a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present- day federally recognized Indian Tribes can reasonably be traced. Lineal descendants or representatives of any federally recognized Indian Tribe not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to TVA. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the federally recognized Indian Tribes stated in this notice may proceed.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41985-41987]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18688]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0023810]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Valley Authority, 
Knoxville, TN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in 
consultation with the appropriate federally recognized Indian Tribes, 
and has determined that a cultural affiliation

[[Page 41986]]

between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-
day federally recognized Indian Tribes can reasonably be traced. Lineal 
descendants or representatives of any federally recognized Indian Tribe 
not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control 
of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request to TVA. If no additional requestors come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to the federally recognized Indian Tribes stated in this notice 
may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any federally 
recognized Indian Tribe not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to TVA at the address in this notice by October 
5, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Thomas O. Maher, TVA, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11D, 
Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, 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. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects under the control of TVA. The human remains 
and associated funerary objects were removed from archeological sites 
in Jackson and Marshall Counties, AL.
    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 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects was made by TVA professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; 
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas (previously listed as the Alabama-
Coushatta Tribes of Texas); Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of 
Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians; Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the Poarch 
Band of Creek Indians of Alabama); The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw 
Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of 
Oklahoma; and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma 
(hereafter referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    The sites listed in this notice were excavated as part of TVA's 
Guntersville Reservoir project by the Alabama Museum of Natural History 
(AMNH) at the University of Alabama, using labor and funds provided by 
the Works Progress Administration. Details regarding these excavations 
and sites may be found in a report, ``An Archaeological Survey of 
Guntersville Basin on the Tennessee River in Northern Alabama,'' by 
William S. Webb and Charles G. Wilder. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects excavated from the sites listed in this notice have 
been in the physical custody of the AMNH at the University of Alabama 
since excavation, but are under the control of TVA.
    From March to April of 1938, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 10 individuals were removed from the Hardin site (1JA27) in 
Jackson County, AL, after TVA acquired the site on October 16, 1936. 
Excavations revealed two primary occupations during the Late Woodland 
Flint River phase (A.D. 500-1000) and the Mississippian Henry Island 
phase (A.D. 1200-1450). The culturally affiliated human remains are 
from the Henry Island phase. The human remains include adults, 
juveniles, and infants of female and indeterminate sex. No known 
individuals were identified. The 11 associated funerary objects include 
2 Bell Plain sherds; 1 Carthage Incised rim sherd; 1 conch shell cup; 1 
Etowah Complicated Stamped jar; 1 Mississippi Plain bowl; 1 Mississippi 
Plain composite jar; 1 Mississippi Plain standard jar; 1 Moundville 
Engraved sherd; 1 Mulberry Creek Plain hemispherical bowl; and 1 
Nashville Negative Painted bottle.
    From January to June of 1938, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 19 individuals were removed from the Saulty and Riley site 
(1JA28) in Jackson County, AL, after TVA purchased the site on October 
16, 1936. Site 1JA28 was composed of both a village and adjacent mound 
with Woodland (Flint River phase) and Mississippian occupations 
identified. The culturally affiliated human remains are from the Henry 
Island phase (circa A.D. 1200-1450). The human remains include adults, 
juveniles, and children of both sexes. No known individuals were 
identified. The 190 associated funerary objects include 4 Bell Plain 
sherds; 1 Bell Plain jar; 4 bone awls or Fids; 1 Carthage Incised bowl; 
2 clay earspools; 3 pieces of cut mica; 1 stone discoidal; 2 mussel 
shells; 7 Mississippi Plain jars; 145 Mississippi Plain sherds; 9 
Mississippi Plain bowl sherds; 1 Mississippi Plain effigy jar; 1 
Mississippi Plain bowl; 1 Moundville Incised, var. Snows Bend jar; 1 
Moundville Incised, var. Carrolton jar; 2 Mulberry Creek Plain, var. 
Hamilton sherds; 3 shell gorgets; 1 eroded shell-tempered sherd; and 1 
Wright Check Stamped sherd.
    From September of 1938 to January of 1939, human remains 
representing, at minimum, 48 individuals were removed from the Laws 
site (1MS100) on Pine Island in Marshall County, AL, after TVA 
purchased the site on April 21, 1937. Excavations began at the levee 
adjacent to the river and proceeded by both vertical slicing and 
horizontal excavations. There appear to have been at least four 
occupations at this site, including a pre-ceramic period with steatite 
vessels; a village using limestone-tempered pottery during the Flint 
River phase (A.D. 500-1000); a late Mississippian occupation using 
shell-tempered ceramics and rectilinear wall trench structures (Crow 
Creek phase, A.D. 1500-1700); and the Euro-American trade period (circa 
A.D. 1670-1715). The human remains are from the last two occupations 
and include adults, juveniles, and children of both sexes. No known 
individuals were identified. The 32,239 associated funerary objects 
include 21 bark container fragments; 8 bark pouch fragments; 1 Bell 
Plain red-filmed bowl, 1 biface fragment; 5 bone beads; 2 dog canines; 
3 botanical fragments; 14 brass arm band fragments; 2 brass arm cuffs; 
55 brass arm cuff fragments; 352 brass beads; 23 brass bells; 6 brass 
disks; 16 brass fragments; 1 brass ring; 9 brass ring fragments; 3 
brass sheet fragments; 8 brass spherical buttons; 1 brass square; 10 
brass tinkler cones; 2 buckskin fragments; 5 buckskin pouch fragments; 
1 burnishing stone; 6 charred cane fragments; 1 chipped stone drill; 29 
drum tooth beads; 1 stone effigy pipe; 2 pieces of fired clay; 29,965 
glass beads; 1 glass mirror; 1 ground limonite; 145 iron and brass wire 
bracelets; 718 iron bracelet fragments; 2 iron buckle fragments; 2 iron 
ring fragments; 56 iron wire fragments; 4 modified bones; 1 lead musket 
ball; 7 pieces of shell; 1 red pigment; 735 shell beads; 4 shell ear 
pins; 2 shell gorgets; 6 shell ornament fragments; and 1 split cane 
fragment.
    From October to November of 1937, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 4 individuals were removed from site 1MS121 on Pine Island, in 
Marshall County, AL, after TVA

[[Page 41987]]

purchased the site on April 19, 1937. There were excavations in both 
the village and adjacent mound. There are no radiocarbon dates for this 
site. The culturally affiliated human remains are from the 
Mississippian period (A.D. 1200-1500). The human remains are of four 
female adults. No known individuals were identified. The 16 associated 
funerary objects include 11 Bell Plain jar sherds; 1 crinoid bead; 2 
Langston Fabric Marked sherds; and 2 Mississippi Plain bowls.
    Although there is no absolute certainty that Native Americans of 
the Mississippian period are directly related to modern federally 
recognized Tribes, a relationship of shared group identity can 
reasonably be traced between these modern Tribes and the human remains 
and associated funerary objects of the earlier culture identified as 
Mississippian. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that the 
cultural items from Mississippian and early historic occupations at 
1JA27, 1JA28, 1MS100, and 1MS121 are culturally affiliated with Native 
Americans descendants of the Koasati/Kaskinampo. These descendants 
include the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas (previously listed as the 
Alabama-Coushata Tribes of Texas); Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; 
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
    Chronicles from Spanish explorers of the 16th century and French 
explorers of the 17th and 18th century indicate the presence of 
chiefdom level tribal entities in the southeastern United States which 
resemble the Mississippian chiefdoms. Linguistic analysis of place 
names noted by multiple Spanish explorers indicates that Koasati 
speaking groups inhabited northeastern Alabama. Early maps and research 
into the historic Native American occupation of northeastern Alabama 
indicates that the Koasati (as called by the English) or the Kaskinampo 
(as called by the French) were found at multiple sites in Jackson and 
Marshall Counties in the 17th and 18th centuries. Oral history, 
traditions, and expert opinions of the descendants of Koasati/
Kaskinampo indicate that this portion of the Tennessee River valley was 
a homeland of their Tribe. The subsequent involuntary diaspora of these 
peoples resulted in descendants of the Koasati/Kaskinampo among 
multiple federally recognized Tribes.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

    Officials of TVA have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 81 individuals of 
Native American ancestry due to their presence in a prehistoric and 
early historic archeological site and osteological analysis.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 32,456 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.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects listed in this 
notice and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas (previously listed as 
the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas); Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; 
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any federally recognized 
Indian Tribe not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to Dr. Thomas O. Maher, TVA, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, 
WT11D, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, email 
[email protected], by October 5, 2017. After that date, if no additional 
requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects to the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 
(previously listed as the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas); Alabama-
Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation may proceed.
    TVA is responsible for notifying The Consulted Tribes that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: August 29, 2017.
Sarah Glass,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-18688 Filed 9-1-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P