Notice2026-05372
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Gainesville, GA
Primary source
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Published
March 19, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest 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 91 Issue 53 (Thursday, March 19, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 53 (Thursday, March 19, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13331-13332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05372]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6993; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042345; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Gainesville, GA
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 Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest 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 April 20, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Judy Toppins, Forest
Supervisor, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, 1755 Cleveland
Highway, Gainesville, GA 30501, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b2d8c7d6cb9cc6ddc2c2dbdcc1f2c7c1d6d39cd5ddc4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="553f20312c7b213a25253c3b2615202631347b323a23">[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
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, 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 three individuals have been
identified from three different sites in Greene County, Georgia.
Scull Shoals Mounds (site 9GE4) was excavated from 1983 to 1985 and
the level where the ancestor was found dates to the Middle
Mississippian Savannah period. One individual and 154 associated
funerary objects were removed from the site. The 154 associated
funerary objects include 143 pottery sherds, one quartz point tip, nine
quartz flakes, and one chert flake tool.
Cold Springs (site 9GE10) was excavated from 1977 to1978 and this
burial dates to the Late Mississippian Lamar period. One individual and
one associated funerary object, a partial pottery vessel, were removed
from the site.
Site 9GE1227 was excavated in 1989 and dates to the Late
Mississippian Lamar period. One individual and 580 associated funerary
objects were removed from the site. The 580 associated funerary objects
include five quartz flakes, one quartz shatter, 497 pottery sherds, 63
daub, six pebbles, six unmodified rocks, one fire cracked rock, and one
mussel shell.
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
The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 735 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.
[[Page 13332]]
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains and
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Coushatta
Tribe of Louisiana; Kialegee Tribal Town; Poarch Band of Creek Indians;
Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole
Nation of Oklahoma; and the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town.
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 April 20,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest 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
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest 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: March 11, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05372 Filed 3-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 19, 2026.
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