Notice2024-29944
Notice of Inventory Completion: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
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
December 18, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Vanderbilt University has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is no lineal descendant and no Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 102948-102949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29944]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039215; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
TN
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Vanderbilt University has completed an
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is no lineal
descendant and no Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with
cultural affiliation.
DATES: Upon request, repatriation of the human remains in this notice
may occur on or after January 17, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Steve Wernke, Professor and Chair, Department of
Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B #356050, 2301
Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, telephone (615) 343-2518, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f182df8694839f9a94b187909f95948393989d85df949584"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="35461b4250475b5e507543545b515047575c59411b505140">[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
Vanderbilt University, and additional information on the determinations
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in
its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
Human remains representing, at least, 86 individuals have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. In
approximately the 1960s, human remains representing, at minimum, 86
individuals were removed from the Ganier site in a location near Bells
Bend, Nashville (Davidson County), Tennessee. Vanderbilt University
believes that the then-owner of the private property contacted Ronald
Spores, Professor of Anthropology at
[[Page 102949]]
Vanderbilt University, to excavate the human remains after they became
visible following erosion affecting the riverbank where they had been
buried. The human remains include those of individuals both male and
female, ranging in age from infant to adult. No known individuals were
identified.
Consultation
Vanderbilt University, through faculty member Tiffiny Tung,
initiated consultation on October 7, 2021 with the following Indian
Tribes: Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Cherokee Nation; Coushatta
Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw
Nation; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Representatives from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and The
Chickasaw Nation responded to the invitation and participated in
consultation with Vanderbilt University.
Cultural Affiliation
The following types of information about the cultural affiliation
of the human remains in this notice are available: geographical.
Specifically, the representative from The Chickasaw Nation noted that
the location along the Cumberland River where the human remains were
located could be linked to several federally recognized Indian Tribes.
The representative for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians advised
that the site falls within the traditional Cherokee aboriginal
territory. The information, including the results of consultation,
identified:
1. No earlier group connected to the human remains.
2. No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization connected to the
human remains.
3. No relationship of shared group identity between the earlier
group and the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that can be
reasonably traced through time.
Determinations
Officials of Vanderbilt University have determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 86 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> No known lineal descendant who can trace ancestry to the
human remains in this notice has been identified.
<bullet> No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with
cultural affiliation to the human remains in this notice has been
clearly or reasonably identified.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this
notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by
any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization
who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a
lineal descendant or an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization
with cultural affiliation.
Upon request, repatriation of the human remains described in this
notice may occur on or after January 17, 2025. If competing requests
for repatriation are received, Vanderbilt University 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. Vanderbilt University is responsible for
sending a copy of this notice to any consulting lineal descendant,
Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: December 11, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-29944 Filed 12-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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