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AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 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 the TVA. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES:

Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 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 the TVA at the address in this notice by December 7, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Dr. Thomas O. Maher, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11C, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, email tomaher@tva.gov.

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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 the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from the Colbert Creek Mound, 1LU54, in Lauderdale County, AL.

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 43 CFR 10.11(d). 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 Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas (previously listed as Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas); Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation (hereafter referred to as “The Consulted Tribes”).

History and Description of the Remains

From February 2 to May 12, 1937, human remains representing, at minimum, 26 individuals were removed from the Colbert Creek Mound, 1LU54, in Lauderdale County, AL, by the Alabama Museum of Natural History (AMNH) at the University of Alabama. Details regarding the excavation of this mound may be found in a report by William Webb and David DeJarnette, An archeological Survey of Pickwick Basin in the Adjacent Portions of the States of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. TVA acquired this site on November 10, 1936, for the Pickwick Reservoir project. This site was located near the confluence of Colbert Creek and the Tennessee River. While there are no radiocarbon dates from this site, the excavated artifacts indicate that the mound was created during the Copena phase (A.D. 100-500).

This burial mound was placed on a natural rise in the second terrace adjacent to the Tennessee River. In the historic period, the site became part of an African American cemetery. This resulted in disturbance of the prehistoric occupation. As the soil was comprised of acidic clay and was relatively rock-filled, identifying burial units was difficult. Preservation of bone and other organic remains was restricted to teeth, skull fragments and impressions of long bones. Both extended and bundled burials were encountered. The fragmentary nature of the human remains made it difficult to identify sex. One set of remains is identified as female and the rest are of indeterminate sex. Twenty individuals are adults and six are sub-adults. No known individuals were identified. The 13 associated funerary objects include seven pieces of galena, one Hillabee schist spade, one chert biface, one chert uniface, and three soil and charcoal samples.Start Printed Page 71093

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

Officials of Tennessee Valley Authority have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice are Native American, based on their presence in prehistoric archeological sites and osteological analysis.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of 26 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 13 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), a relationship of shared group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribe.
• According to final judgments of the Indian Claims Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
• The Treaty of September 20, 1816, indicates that the land from which the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of The Chickasaw Nation.
• Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1)(ii), TVA must offer to transfer control of the human remains to the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have declined to accept transfer of control of the human remains. The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma has not responded. Accordingly, TVA has decided to transfer control of the human remains to The Chickasaw Nation.
• Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(4), TVA has decided to transfer control of the funerary objects associated with the culturally unidentifiable human remains to The Chickasaw Nation.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 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, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11C, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, telephone (865) 632-7458, email tomaher@tva.gov, by December 7, 2020. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The Chickasaw Nation may proceed.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is responsible for notifying The Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

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