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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, 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

Between 1979 and 1981, human remains and cultural items were removed from the Swamp Site (38BK235), in Berkeley County, SC. The site was excavated by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) of Columbia, SC, prior to the construction of the Cooper River Rediversion Canal Project. Artifacts were stored at SCIAA, which is the current location of the portion of the 38BK235 collection that remains in the possession of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District. No toxic materials have been known to have been used on the collection. The human ( printed page 35540) remains and associated funerary objects of the collection that were previously returned to the Catawba Indian Nation in April 2016 are discussed in previous Notices of Inventory Completion, published in the Federal Register on March 16, 2015 (80 FR 13614) and January 27, 2016 (81 FR 4654), respectively, but the current cultural items of this collection that remain in the possession of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District were considered unassociated at that time. After a reevaluation following the 2024 regulatory update, the remaining cultural items of the collection in the possession of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District are now being considered associated funerary objects.

The 1,589 associated funerary objects are one axe, one bottle, 440 lots of ceramics, three charcoal, one fossil, one lot of glass, one lot of historic metal, one lithic tool, 950 lots of lithics, seven projectile points, two scrapers, five shell, 157 lots of soil, and 19 lots of non-cultural stones.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation on the remaining cultural items in the possession of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the 1,589 associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, has determined that:

• The 1,589 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.
• There is a connection between the associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Catawba Indian Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the 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 associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 13, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and any other consulting parties.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

91 FR 35539