```

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 102948-102949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29944]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039215; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Inventory Completion: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, 
TN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Vanderbilt University has completed an 
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is no lineal 
descendant and no Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.

DATES: Upon request, repatriation of the human remains in this notice 
may occur on or after January 17, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Steve Wernke, Professor and Chair, Department of 
Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B #356050, 2301 
Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, telephone (615) 343-2518, email 
[email protected].

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 
Vanderbilt University, 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, 86 individuals have been 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. In 
approximately the 1960s, human remains representing, at minimum, 86 
individuals were removed from the Ganier site in a location near Bells 
Bend, Nashville (Davidson County), Tennessee. Vanderbilt University 
believes that the then-owner of the private property contacted Ronald 
Spores, Professor of Anthropology at

[[Page 102949]]

Vanderbilt University, to excavate the human remains after they became 
visible following erosion affecting the riverbank where they had been 
buried. The human remains include those of individuals both male and 
female, ranging in age from infant to adult. No known individuals were 
identified.

Consultation

    Vanderbilt University, through faculty member Tiffiny Tung, 
initiated consultation on October 7, 2021 with the following Indian 
Tribes: Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Cherokee Nation; Coushatta 
Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw 
Nation; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
    Representatives from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and The 
Chickasaw Nation responded to the invitation and participated in 
consultation with Vanderbilt University.

Cultural Affiliation

    The following types of information about the cultural affiliation 
of the human remains in this notice are available: geographical. 
Specifically, the representative from The Chickasaw Nation noted that 
the location along the Cumberland River where the human remains were 
located could be linked to several federally recognized Indian Tribes. 
The representative for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians advised 
that the site falls within the traditional Cherokee aboriginal 
territory. The information, including the results of consultation, 
identified:
    1. No earlier group connected to the human remains.
    2. No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization connected to the 
human remains.
    3. No relationship of shared group identity between the earlier 
group and the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that can be 
reasonably traced through time.

Determinations

    Officials of Vanderbilt University have determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 86 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     No known lineal descendant who can trace ancestry to the 
human remains in this notice has been identified.
     No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation to the human remains in this notice has been 
clearly or reasonably identified.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 
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.
    Upon request, repatriation of the human remains described in this 
notice may occur on or after January 17, 2025. If competing requests 
for repatriation are received, Vanderbilt University must determine the 
most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint 
repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and 
not competing requests. Vanderbilt University is responsible for 
sending a copy of this notice to any consulting lineal descendant, 
Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: December 11, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-29944 Filed 12-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
```