2021-06660. Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has completed an inventory of 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 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 associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the TVA. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the 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 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 May 3, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Dr. Thomas O. Maher, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT11C, Knoxville, TN 37902-1401, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

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 associated funerary objects under the control of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN. The associated funerary objects were removed from archeological site 1JA305 in Jackson 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 associated funerary objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

A detailed assessment of the associated funerary objects was made by TVA professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas [previously listed as Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas]; Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Poarch Band of Creeks [previously listed as Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama]; The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (hereafter referred to as “The Consulted Tribes”).

History and Description of the Associated Funerary Objects

Human remains and associated funerary objects from site 1JA305 were listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on May 3, 2019 (84 FR 19111-19113, May 3, 2019). Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(2)(i) and (c)(4), all the cultural items listed in that notice were transferred to the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas [previously listed as Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas]; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Recently, during a curation improvement project, additional associated funerary objects from this site were discovered at the Alabama Museum of Natural History.

In 1973, excavations took place at the Widows Creek site, 1JA305, in Jackson County, AL, as part of the expansion of TVA's Widows Creek power plant. TVA purchased the land encompassing this site on September 12, 1943. Multiple calibrated radiocarbon dates from this site indicated Early Woodland (600-100 B.C.) and Late Woodland (A.D. 500-1100) occupations. The recently identified associated funerary objects discussed in this notice include one lot of whole and fragmented snail shell from burial 2.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Valley Authority

Officials of the Tennessee Valley Authority have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 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 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 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 Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma have declined to accept transfer of control of these cultural items.
• Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(4), the Tennessee Valley Authority has agreed to transfer control of the associated funerary objects to the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas [previously listed as Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas]; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation (hereafter referred to as “The Tribes”).

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 the 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 [phone], email [e-mail], by May 3, 2021. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the associated funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed.

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

Dated: March 16, 2021.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.