Notice2025-10017
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
Primary source
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Published
June 3, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA) intends to repatriate certain cultural items from Lauderdale County, TN, that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23561-23562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10017]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040243; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 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), the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA) intends to repatriate
certain cultural items from Lauderdale County, TN, that meet the
definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural
affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in
this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after July 3, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Phillip R. Hodge, Tennessee Department
of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA),
1216 Foster Avenue, Cole Building #3, Nashville, TN 37243, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3c3dbdadf9ddbdcd7d4d6f3c7dd9dd4dcc5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d4a4bcbdb8fabcbbb0b3b194a0bafab3bba2">[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
TDEC-DOA, and additional information on the determinations in this
notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the
summary or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of 22 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
Site 40LA92, Lauderdale County, TN
Twenty-two unassociated funerary objects consisting of 17 ceramic
vessels, one sandstone abrader (missing at inventory), one lot of
ceramic sherds and lithics, two lots of ceramic sherds, and one lot of
ceramic sherds and faunal material. Excavations at the Graves Lake site
were conducted by TDEC-DOA in 1990 under ARPA permit 01-TN-1-90, to
mitigate site damage resulting from earthmoving activity. Ancestral
remains associated with these artifacts were not
[[Page 23562]]
exhumed. There is no known exposure to hazardous substances or
treatments.
Determinations
The TDEC-DOA has determined that:
<bullet> The 22 unassociated funerary objects described in this
notice is reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or
near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or
later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The
unassociated funerary object has been identified by a preponderance of
the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or
families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an
individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe
or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the cultural
items described in this notice and the Quapaw Nation and The Chickasaw
Nation.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
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 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 cultural items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after July 3, 2025. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the TDEC-DOA must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and
not competing requests. The TDEC-DOA is responsible for sending a copy
of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations
identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: May 21, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-10017 Filed 6-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 3, 2025.
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