Notice2025-17879
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology, 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
September 16, 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 unknown sites in Tennessee 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 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44709-44710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17879]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6533; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041087; 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 unknown sites in Tennessee 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 October 16, 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#04546c6d682a4c6b60636144706a2a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="49192120256701262d2e2c093d27672e263f">[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 six cultural items from unknown locations in Tennessee
have been requested for repatriation.
Unknown Sites, TN
The six unassociated funerary objects are:
Four partial ceramic vessels. No information exists as to the
circumstances of original collection or timing of this donation to
TDEC-DOA.
One partial ceramic pipe bowl repaired using modern materials. This
artifact was donated by a private collector to Bays Mountain Natural
Area and Park in Kingsport, Tennessee around 1971 and transferred to
TDEC-DOA in 2022.
One bison metacarpal bone. This artifact was part of the Tennessee
State Museum collection and was transferred to TDEC-DOA in 2021. No
additional information is available regarding the circumstances of
recovery.
There is no known exposure to hazardous substances or treatments.
Determinations
The TDEC-DOA has determined that:
<bullet> The six cultural items described in this notice are
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 objects have 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 Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in
Oklahoma.
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
[[Page 44710]]
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 October 16, 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: September 4, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-17879 Filed 9-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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