2024-03090. Notice of Inventory Completion: Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, Andover, MA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects 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. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from northwestern Tennessee and Monroe County, TN.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after March 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Ryan J. Wheeler, Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, 180 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown site, likely in northwestern Tennessee. Mollie Hall, a resident of Hopkinsville KY, transferred the human remains, representing one adult male, age 35 to 37, to the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology (then called the Department of Archaeology, Phillips Academy) in 1903. No associated funerary objects are present.

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from historic Cherokee town sites in Monroe County, TN. In 1942, prior to inundation by the TVA, George Sherwood removed cultural items and Native American ancestral remains from several historic Cherokee town sites along the Little Tennessee River above Fort Loudoun. Sherwood transferred the human remains, representing one adult male, to the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology (then called the Department of Archaeology, Phillips Academy) in 1981. The eight associated funerary objects are three ceramic fragments, one lithic flake, two chipped bifaces, and two projectile points.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were used to reasonably trace the relationship: archeological information, geographical information, historical information, oral tradition, and the expert opinion of Tribal representatives.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The eight 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.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; 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 Responsible Official identified in 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after March 18, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology 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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

This notice was submitted before the effective date of the revised regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12, 2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the Federal Register and includes the required information, the National Park Service is publishing this notice as submitted.

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

Dated: February 7, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.