2023-06475. Notice of Inventory Completion: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were removed from Desoto County, MS.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after April 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Jessica Walzer, NAGPRA Coordinator, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Museum Division, 222 North Street, P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205, 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 MDAH. 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 MDAH.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were removed from Desoto County, MS. These human remains were removed from Cheatham (22DS514) and an unknown site whose location was given as “River Bank at Walls, Mags lot 60.” In 2015, the human remains were transferred to MDAH from the C.H. Nash Museum. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from Desoto County, MS. These human remains were removed from an unknown site identified by a label reading “516/2x2, M12” and possibly denoting the Irby site (22DS516). In 2015, the human remains were transferred to MDAH from the C.H. Nash Museum. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains 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, biological, and geographical.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, MDAH has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
• 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 Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Quapaw Nation; The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Osage Nation; and the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe.

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 April 28, 2023. If competing requests for repatriation are received, MDAH 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. MDAH is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, and 10.14.

Dated: March 22, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.