Notice2025-23041
Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Tennessee, Department of Anthropology, Knoxville, 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 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Anthropology (UTK), 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
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 58607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23041]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6689; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041429; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Tennessee,
Department of Anthropology, Knoxville, TN
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), The University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
Department of Anthropology (UTK), 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 16, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Ellen Lofaro,
University of Tennessee (UTK), Office of Repatriation, 5723 Middlebrook
Pike, Knoxville, TN 37996, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#325c5355424053724746591c575647"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="93fdf2f4e3e1f2d3e6e7f8bdf6f7e6">[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 UTK,
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, 100 individuals have been
identified. The four lots of associated funerary objects are one lot of
ceramic sherds, one lot of fauna and shell, one lot of lithics, and one
lot of objects placed with or near human remains. These individuals and
objects were recovered from the Carrigan or Gigen's Cemetery site
(40MT33) in Montgomery County, TN, by Paul Eden and H.C. ``Buddy''
Brehm with Southeastern Indian Antiquities Survey (SIAS) in September
1974. This site dates to the Mississippian Period, ~1000-1450 CE. These
individuals and objects were transferred to UTK in 1975 for examination
and retained.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified. The two lots of associated funerary objects are two lots of
objects placed with or near human remains. This individual and objects
were recovered from Coleman Cave (40MT16) in Montgomery County, TN. One
individual and one lot of objects were discovered at UTK as part of the
McIlhaney Collection in July 2024. The circumstances of recovery and
what brought this individual and objects to UTK are currently unknown.
The second lot of objects were donated by an unknown caver to the Cave
Archaeology Reasearch Team project directed by Jan Simek at UTK likely
in the 1990s. This cave site dates from the Archaic to Mississippian
periods.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. This individual
was recovered by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office from an unknown
location in Montgomery County and sent to the UTK Forensic Anthropology
Center (FAC) in August of 1983 for examination. After FAC staff
determined that the individual was Native American, and not of
medicolegal concern, they were retained by the FAC as case 83-18. They
remained at the FAC until they were recently transferred to the UTK
Office of Repatriation.
To our knowledge, no potentially hazardous substances have been
used to treat any of the Ancestral remains or 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.
Determinations
UTK has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 102 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The six 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 Cherokee
Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation;
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; 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
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
16, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, UTK 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. UTK are responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the
Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this
notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: November 24, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23041 Filed 12-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 17, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.