Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS

Topics:  Natchez Trace Parkway

Melanie O'Brien
Department of the Interior
October 16, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 200 (Friday, October 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62566-62567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26331]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-19126; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 
Natchez Trace Parkway has completed an inventory of human remains and 
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 human remains and 
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 human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request to Natchez Trace 
Parkway. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control 
of the human remains and 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 human remains and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to Natchez Trace Parkway at the address in this notice by 
November 16, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Mary Risser, Superintendent, Natchez Trace Parkway, 2680 
Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS 38804-9715, telephone (662) 680-4005, 
email mary_risser@nps.gov.

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 human remains and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the U.S. Department of 
the Interior, National Park Service, Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS. 
The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Lee, Prentiss, and Tishomingo Counties, MS.
    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 Superintendent, Natchez Trace Parkway.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Natchez 
Trace Parkway professional staff in consultation with representatives 
of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, The Chickasaw Nation, and the 
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    On an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, three 
individuals, were removed from the Citizens Bank Property site in Lee 
County, MS. The exact details of removal are unknown, but documentation 
indicates that the remains were likely removed by Natchez Trace 
naturalist Francis Elmore. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1940, human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals 
were removed from the Carr site in Lee County, MS, during Works 
Progress Administration (WPA) excavations. The site is dated to the 
Late Woodland-Early Mississippian period (circa 1000 B.C.-A.D. 1200). 
No known individuals were identified. The 287 associated funerary 
objects are 140 Mulberry Creek vessel fragments, 3 Furrs Cord Marked 
vessel fragments, 1 Mississippi Plain vessel fragment, 8 Baytown Plain 
vessel fragments, 1 Baldwin Plain vessel fragment, 6 untyped vessel 
fragments, 1 piece of daub, 5 flakes, 3 pieces of shatter, 1 piece of 
ochre, 2 flake tools, 1 scraper, 2 bifaces, 1 core tool, 2 pieces of 
sandstone, 29 deer bones, 1 turkey bone, 6 box turtle bones, 26 mammal 
bones, and 48 animal bones.
    In 1940, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Jennings Dig Number One in Lee County, MS, during WPA 
excavations. The site is dated to the Miller I-II periods (100 B.C.-
A.D. 500). No known individuals were identified. The 22 associated 
funerary objects are 1 biface, 1 piece of shatter, 1 concretion, 3 
Baytown Plain vessel fragments, 1 untyped vessel fragment, and 15 
fossil fragments.
    In 1940, human remains representing, at minimum, 35 individuals 
were removed from Miller Mounds in Lee County, MS, during WPA 
excavations. The site is dated to the Woodland period (A.D. 500-1000). 
No known individuals were identified. The 39 associated funerary 
objects are 4 Saltillo Fabric Marked vessel fragments, 3 Saltillo Plain 
vessel fragments, 2 Baldwin Plain vessel fragments, 5 untyped vessel 
fragments, 7 projectile points, 1 Lowe Cluster projectile point, 3 
bifaces, 4 flakes, 1 platform pipe, 1 busycon shell, 1 chert knife, 1 
piece of shatter, 1 unmodified stone, 2 flake tools, 2 Baldwin Plain 
bowls, and 1 Furrs Cord Marked jar.

[[Page 62567]]

    In 1947-1951, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the Chewapa site in Lee County, MS, by an 
unknown individual who gave the remains to the WPA survey in the area. 
The site is dated to the Miller III/Late Woodland period (circa A.D. 
500-1200). No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    In 1948, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Headquarters Mound in Lee County, MS, during 
excavation and survey. The site dates to the Late Woodland period 
(circa A.D. 500-1000). No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1948, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from Old Rodgers Place Number One in Lee County, MS, 
during a WPA survey. The site is prehistoric Native American, but an 
exact date is unknown. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1949, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual, 
were removed from the Coonewah Creek site in Lee County, MS, during a 
site survey. The site dates to the Miller III/Late Woodland Period 
(circa A.D. 500-1200). No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1965, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from Bear Creek Temple Mound in Tishomingo County, MS, 
during archeological investigations. The site dates to the Late 
Mississippian period (circa A.D. 1400-1600). No known individuals were 
identified. The three associated funerary objects are one untyped 
vessel fragment and two deer bones.
    In 1972, human remains representing, at minimum, six individuals 
were removed from Pharr Mounds in Prentiss County, MS, during 
excavations of the village area and four mounds. The site dates to the 
Miller I-II phases of the Middle Woodland period (circa A.D. 0-500). No 
known individuals were identified. The 14 associated funerary objects 
are 7 Saltillo Fabric vessel fragments, 6 Baldwin Plain vessel 
fragments, and 1 untyped vessel fragment.
    In 1978, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
were removed from Pharr Mounds in Prentiss County, MS. The remains were 
removed during excavations to investigate the impact of construction 
near the site. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Cultural affiliation of the human remains described above could not 
be determined due to uncertain burial provenience, lack of culturally 
affiliated historic artifacts, and/or the antiquity of the remains.

Determinations Made by Natchez Trace Parkway

    Officials of Natchez Trace Parkway have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on archeological context.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 60 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 365 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. The National Park Service intends 
to convey the associated funerary objects to the tribes pursuant to 16 
U.S.C. 18f-2.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day 
Indian tribe.
     Treaties, Acts of Congress, or Executive Orders, indicate 
that the land from which the Native American human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of The 
Chickasaw Nation.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects may be to The Chickasaw 
Nation.

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 these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Mary 
Risser, Superintendent, Natchez Trace Parkway, 2680 Natchez Trace 
Parkway, Tupelo, MS 38804-9715, telephone (662) 680-4005, email 
mary_risser@nps.gov, by November 16, 2015. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to The Chickasaw Nation 
may proceed.
    Natchez Trace Parkway is responsible for notifying the Alabama-
Coushatta Tribe of Texas, The Chickasaw Nation, and the United 
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: August 25, 2015.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2015-26331 Filed 10-15-15; 8:45 am]
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