90 FR 143 pgs. 35717-35718 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 143Pages: 35717 - 35718
Pages: 35717, 35718Docket number: [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040604; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-14271 Filed 7-28-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Interior Department
Sub Agency: National Park Service
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040604; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: 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) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects from Maury County, Tennessee and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES:
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after August 28, 2025.
ADDRESSES:
Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to Phillip R. Hodge, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 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 its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
Human remains representing, at least, seven individuals have been identified. The two associated funerary objects are two lots of unsorted artifacts.
Site 40MU245, Maury County, TN
Human remains representing, at least, one individual. No information is available regarding the collection or donation of these materials. There is no known exposure to hazardous substances or treatments.
Site 40MU260, Maury County, TN
Human remains representing, at least, three individuals. These ancestral remains were excavated by a private consultant in 1999 under a cemetery termination order from the Maury County Chancery Court, and transferred to TDEC-DOA that same year. There is no known exposure to hazardous substances or treatments.
Site 40MU528, Maury County, TN
Human remains representing, at least, three individuals. The two associated funerary objects consist of two lots of unsorted artifacts including lithics and gastropod shell. These materials were donated to Division of Archaeology by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Archaeological Research Laboratory in 2003. The original circumstances surrounding the collection of these materials is unknown.
There is no known exposure to hazardous substances or treatments.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The TDEC-DOA has determined that:
• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of seven individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The two lots of artifacts 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 human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; The Chickasaw Nation; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 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:
[top] 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 human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after August 28, 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 human remains and associated funerary objects 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.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: July 9, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-14271 Filed 7-28-25; 8:45 am]
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