2023-19960. Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (PMAE) 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 West Feliciana Parish, LA.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after October 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Patricia Capone, PMAE, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, 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 PMAE. 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 PMAE.

Description

In 1972, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were removed from the Trudeau Site (LMS 29–J–1) in West Feliciana Parish, LA, by Jeffrey P. Brain as part of the Lower Mississippi Survey Expedition. At that time, the Survey Expedition was a project of Harvard University. No associated funerary objects are present.

Based on Native American ceramics, glass beads, and European objects recovered from LMS 29–J–1, the Trudeau site is known to have been the primary village and cemetery of the Tunica people from 1731 through 1764. Historical, ethnohistorical, and oral historical evidence summarized by Mr. Brain in his publication, Tunica Archaeology, support the proposition that the present-day descendants of the 18th century Tunica are the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana.

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: anthropological, archeological, geographical, historical, and oral tradition.

Determinations

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

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains described in this notice and the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 16, 2023. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the PMAE must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The PMAE is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribe 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: September 8, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.