Notice2025-23385
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
Primary source
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Published
December 19, 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 Hamilton 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 242 (Friday, December 19, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 242 (Friday, December 19, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 59559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23385]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6807; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041643; 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 Hamilton 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 January 20, 2026.
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#e0b088898ccea88f848785a0948ece878f96"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="64340c0d084a2c0b00030124100a4a030b12">[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 one cultural item and two lots of artifacts from
Hamilton County, Tennessee have been requested for repatriation.
Site 40HA52, Hamilton County, TN: One lot of faunal remains
identified on the box label as originally being from mortuary contexts.
These materials were donated to TDEC-DOA in 2022 by archaeology faculty
from Sewanee, the University of the South. No information exists as to
the circumstances of original collection. There is no known exposure to
hazardous substances or treatments.
Site 40HA407, Hamilton County, TN: One lot of material including
ochre and lithics. These materials were excavated by a consultant in
August 1995 according to a cemetery removal petition to the Hamilton
County Chancery Court. All skeletal materials from the project were
transferred to the ``Ghost Children of Heart Nations, Inc.'' for
reburial in April 1998. There is no information on how these specific
materials entered or remained in TDEC-DOA collections. There is no
known exposure to hazardous substances or treatments.
Unknown site, Hamilton County, TN: One ceramic vessel. The vessel
was donated to TDEC-DOA in 1997. No additional information is available
as to site location. There is no known exposure to hazardous substances
or treatments.
Determinations
The TDEC-DOA has determined that:
<bullet> The three 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 Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of
Texas; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Poarch Band
of Creek Indians; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; Thlopthlocco Tribal
Town; 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 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 January 20, 2026. 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: December 11, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23385 Filed 12-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 19, 2025.
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