Notice2023-13309
Notice of Inventory Completion: North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, Raleigh, NC
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 22, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Jackson and Swain Counties, NC.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 119 (Thursday, June 22, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 119 (Thursday, June 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40859-40860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13309]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036076; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: North Carolina Office of State
Archaeology, Raleigh, NC
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the North Carolina Office of State
Archaeology has completed an inventory of human remains and associated
funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Jackson
and Swain Counties, NC.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after July 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Emily McDowell, Office of State Archaeology, 215 West Lane
Street, Raleigh, NC 27616, telephone (919) 715-5599, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#31545c585d481f5c52555e46545d5d715f525552431f565e47"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b9dcd4d0d5c097d4daddd6cedcd5d5f9d7dadddacb97ded6cf">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. 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 North Carolina Office of State Archaeology.
Description
Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were
removed from Jackson County, NC. In 1992, these human remains were
recovered during a salvage excavation conducted by Dr. David Moore, who
was employed at the Office of State Archaeology. The excavation was
conducted in response to the unanticipated discovery of significant
archeological features during the construction of the K-8 Cullowhee
Valley School. As a result, archeological sites 31JK32 and 31JK270 were
registered. The archeological context of
[[Page 40860]]
these individuals is unclear. We do not know whether they were
recovered from the Connestee phase component (ca. 200-600 CE) or the
Late Woodland component (ca. 800-1000 CE). The latter component is
characterized by Napier-style pottery, which is associated with
Muskogean presence or influence. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Human remains representing, at minimum, 11 individuals were removed
from Swain County, NC. In 1990, these human remains were excavated from
the Ela Site, 31SW5, by Western Carolina University, during a survey
for the East Elementary School. The human remains are associated with
the Cherokee Qualla Phase occupation of the site, with some of the
individuals being removed from a Qualla Phase structure. Following the
excavation, the human remains were transferred to Wake Forest
University in Winston Salem, NC, for analysis, and in 2010, they were
transferred to the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. No known
individuals were identified. The 4,056 associated funerary objects are
1,591 pieces of fired clay, 1,048 flakes, 555 pottery sherds, 375
faunal elements, 316 pieces of shatter, 19 projectile points/projectile
point fragments, 98 unworked items (such as mica), 12 charcoal samples,
nine cobbles, six beads, 10 cores, five wedges, three polishers, two
hammerstones, two bifaces, one spokeshave, one ceramic disc, one gaming
stone, one soapstone sherd, and one shell gorget.
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: archeological, geographical, historical, and oral
traditional.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology has
determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 13 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 4,056 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.
<bullet> 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 Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band
of Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
in Oklahoma.
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 July 24, 2023. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, the North Carolina
Office of State Archaeology 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. The North Carolina Office of State
Archaeology 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: June 14, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-13309 Filed 6-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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