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 MCRDPI, and additional information on the human remains or 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 up to 18 individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated funerary objects are present. These remains were removed from eight precontact archaeological sites during excavations that took place in 1997 and 2006 on MCRDPI in Beaufort County, SC and include five ancestral fragments possibly cranial, one fragment navicular foot, five unidentified fragments, one fragment Prox. Phalange (probably #3), five long bone fragments, and one bone fragment. These remains are currently curated at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) in Columbia, South Carolina.

Determinations

The MCRDPI has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of up to 18 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Catawba Indian Nation; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Kialegee Tribal Town; Seminole Tribe of Florida; Shawnee Tribe; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; and the Tuscarora Nation have priority for disposition of the human remains described in this notice.

Claims for Disposition

Written claims for disposition of the human remains 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 9, 2027, the human remains in this notice will become unclaimed human remains. Claims for disposition may be submitted by:

1. Any lineal descendant or Indian Tribe identified in this notice.

2. Any lineal descendant or Indian Tribe not identified in this notice who shows that they have priority for disposition.

Disposition of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after October 9, 2026. If competing claims for disposition are received, the MCRDPI must determine the most appropriate claimant prior to disposition. Claims for joint disposition of the human remains are considered a single claim and not competing claims. The MCRDPI is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the lineal descendants or Indian Tribes 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.

91 FR 57371