[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 222 (Friday, November 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68818-68819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27953]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-11613; 2200-1100-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Energy Oak 
Ridge Office, Oak Ridge, TN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office has completed 
an inventory of human remains and associated funerary object, in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, and has determined 
that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and the 
associated funerary object and a present-day Indian tribe. 
Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
object may contact the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office. 
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary object to the 
Indian tribe stated below may occur if no additional claimants come 
forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains and associated funerary 
object should contact the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office at 
the address below by December 17, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Katatra Vasquez, U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office, 
P.O. Box 2001, SE-32, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, telephone (865) 576-0835.

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 object in the possession of the U.S. Department of 
Energy Oak Ridge Office. The human remains and associated funerary 
object were removed from Roane County, TN.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary object. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the U.S.

[[Page 68819]]

Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Cherokee Nation; Chickasaw 
Nation; Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Eastern Band of Cherokee; Eastern 
Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as 
the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama); Quapaw Tribe of Indians; 
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and the 
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    In July 1981, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from site 40RE86 in Roane County, TN, as a 
result of an archeological investigation. The site dates to the 
Mississippian period (specifically, the eastern Tennessee Dallas Phase, 
A.D. 1300 to 1600). Based on the associated pottery found at the site, 
the human remains date to about A.D. 1400. No known individuals were 
identified. The one associated funerary object is a small shell 
tempered vessel.
    The Dallas Phase people of the Upper Tennessee Valley are not 
clearly identifiable as being culturally affiliated with a modern-day 
tribe. However, based on consultation and the totality of circumstances 
surrounding acquisition of the human remains and associated funerary 
object, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office has determined 
by a reasonable belief that the human remains and associated funerary 
object are culturally affiliated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians.

Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office

    Officials of the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the one object described 
above is 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), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
object should contact Katatra Vasquez, U.S. Department of Energy Oak 
Ridge Office, P.O. Box 2001, SE-32, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, telephone 
(865) 576-0835 before December 17, 2012. Repatriation of the human 
remains and associated funerary object to the Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office is responsible for 
notifying the Cherokee Nation; Chickasaw Nation; Choctaw Nation of 
Oklahoma; Eastern Band of Cherokee; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; 
Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the Poarch Band of Creek 
Indians of Alabama); Quapaw Tribe of Indians; The Muscogee (Creek) 
Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and the United Keetoowah Band 
of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: October 25, 2012.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-27953 Filed 11-15-12; 8:45 am]
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