90 FR 105 pgs. 23561-23562 - Notice of Intended Repatriation: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 105Pages: 23561 - 23562
Pages: 23561, 23562Docket number: [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040243; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-10017 Filed 6-2-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Interior Department
Sub Agency: National Park Service
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
[top]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040243; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
AGENCY:
National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA) intends to repatriate certain cultural items from Lauderdale County, TN, that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES:
Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after July 3, 2025.
ADDRESSES:
Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Phillip R. Hodge, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA), 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole Building #3, Nashville, TN 37243, email phil.hodge@tn.gov.
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 TDEC-DOA, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of 22 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
Site 40LA92, Lauderdale County, TN
[top] Twenty-two unassociated funerary objects consisting of 17 ceramic vessels, one sandstone abrader (missing at inventory), one lot of ceramic sherds and lithics, two lots of ceramic sherds, and one lot of ceramic sherds and faunal material. Excavations at the Graves Lake site were conducted by TDEC-DOA in 1990 under ARPA permit 01-TN-1-90, to mitigate site damage resulting from earthmoving activity. Ancestral remains associated with these artifacts were not
Determinations
The TDEC-DOA has determined that:
• The 22 unassociated funerary objects described in this notice is reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The unassociated funerary object has been identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a reasonable connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Quapaw Nation and The Chickasaw Nation.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 3, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the TDEC-DOA must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and not competing requests. The TDEC-DOA is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: May 21, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-10017 Filed 6-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P