Notice2025-22921
Notice of Inventory Completion: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS
Primary source
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Published
December 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 239 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58276-58278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22921]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6645; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041379; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Mississippi Department of
Archives and History, Jackson, MS
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 Mississippi Department of Archives and
History (MDAH) 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.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 15, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Cindy Carter-Davis,
Chief Archaeologist, Mississippi Department of Archives and History,
Historic Preservation Division, 100 South State
[[Page 58277]]
Street, P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#583b3b392a2c3d2a3c392e312b18353c393076352b763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="781b1b190a0c1d0a1c190e110b38151c191056150b561f170e">[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
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 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
Based on the information available, in 2018, human remains from
22PA587 (Dugger Bluff) were listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion,
published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2018 (FR 2018-07699).
Also in 2021, human remains and AFO from 22PA587 (Dugger Bluff) were
listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion, published in the Federal
Register on January 22, 2021 (FR 2021-01340). These human remains and
associated funerary objects were repatriated to The Chickasaw Nation.
This notice includes additional human remains and associated funerary
objects not included in the previous repatriations by the Mississippi
Department of Archives and History.
Human remains representing, at least, eight individuals have been
identified from 22PA587 (Dugger Bluff). The nine lots of associated
funerary objects are one lot Native American ceramics, one lot lithics,
one lot faunal remains, one lot shell, one lot fired clay, one lot
organic material, one lot wood, one lot ochre, and one lot soil sample.
In 1980, the University of Mississippi surveyed and excavated the
surface of 22PA587. The human remains and surface collection were
transferred from the University of Mississippi to MDAH in 2021.
According to limited documentation, the site was also excavated in 1989
and possibly 1990 by MDAH personnel. However, no report for either
excavation is available. In 1991, archaeologist Jay Mitchell performed
a salvage excavation of a burial pit at the site and transferred the
human remains and associated collection to MDAH.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22PA10 (Mothershead). The human remains were removed at
an unknown date and an unknown provenience by collector Glenn Johnson.
No associated funerary objects are present.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from Monroe County, Mississippi. The one lot of associated
funerary objects is a gorget. The human remains and the gorget are
likely from a mound that was bulldozed in the 1960s near Amory and
Nettleton, Mississippi. The human remains and the gorget were
transferred to MDAH from the Arkansas Archaeological Survey in 2021.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from Monroe County, Mississippi. No associated funerary
objects are present. The human remains were recovered from a cotton
field, located near Aberdeen, in the Tombigbee River bottom during the
1930s and donated to the Evans Memorial Library. The human remains were
transferred to MDAH from the Evans Memorial Library in 2023.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from an unknown location in Monroe County, Mississippi. The
one lot of associated funerary objects are lithics. The human remains
and objects were collected by a private individual named Clarence Day
in the area surrounding Aberdeen, MS along the Tombigbee River.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22MO940 (Nettleton). The one lot of associated funerary
objects are faunal remains. The human remains and faunal remains were
possibly removed from the site as part of a survey done by MDAH
personnel in 1978.
Human remains representing at least, three individuals have been
identified at 22PS529 (Trimble). The two associated funerary objects
are one lot of Native American ceramic and one lot wood. The human
remains and objects were transferred from the University of Mississippi
to MDAH in 2021.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22IT500/22IT532 (Fear's Place or Ironwood Bluff). The
one lot of associated funerary objects associated with this site is one
lot of lithics. Although the site was noted in 1970, the provenance of
these remains and associated funerary objects is mostly unknown. The
remains were transferred from Louisiana State University to MDAH in
2022 and the lot of associated funerary objects are thought to have
been collected in 1979.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22CL536 . The four lots of associated funerary objects
are one lot Native American ceramics, one lot shell, one lot lithic,
and one lot ceramic pipe. The human remains and objects were removed
during a surface collection conducted by MDAH in 1979.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22CL597 (Harmon Lake #3). The four lots of associated
funerary objects are one lot Native American ceramics, one lot faunal
remains, one lot clay, and one lot lithic. The human remains and
objects were collected during a surface collection conducted by MDAH in
1979.
No human remains are present; the remaining objects associated with
human remains from 22CL598 (Chuquatonchee #2) previously listed in a
Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on
March 29, 2023 (FR 2023-06474) have been identified. The four lots of
associated funerary objects are one lot Native American ceramics, one
lot clay, one lot ochre, and one lot lithics. Some of the objects are
from a surface collection conducted by MDAH in 1979. There is also a
collection with an unknown history.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22CL604 (Smith #3). The three lots of associated
funerary objects are one lot clay, one lot Native American ceramics and
one lot lithic. The human remains and objects were collected during a
surface collection conducted by MDAH in 1979.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22CL620 (Hang Kettle #1). The five lots of associated
funerary objects are one lot Native American ceramics, one lot shell,
one lot lithic, one lot discoidal and one lot petrified wood. The human
remains and objects may have been collected during a survey conducted
by MDAH in the 1970s and/or 1980s.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified from 22CL763 (Sprouse). The four lots of associated funerary
objects are one lot Native American ceramic, one lot shell, one lot
clay and one lot lithic. The remains and objects may have been
collected during a survey conducted by MDAH in the 1980s.
Through Tribal consultation, these 22 individuals and 39 lots of
associated funerary objects were identified as culturally affiliated
with The Chickasaw Nation. To our knowledge, no known hazardous
substances were used to treat any of the human remains or the
associated funerary objects.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in
this notice.
[[Page 58278]]
Determinations
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has determined
that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 22 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 39 lots of objects described in this notice are
reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally 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 connection between the human remains and
associated funerary objects described in this notice and The Chickasaw
Nation.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
authorized representative identified in this notice under 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with
cultural affiliation.
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January
15, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History 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 Mississippi
Department of Archives and History is responsible for sending a copy of
this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations
identified in this notice and any other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: November 20, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-22921 Filed 12-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 16, 2025.
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