# Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Gainesville, GA
**AGENCY:**
National Park Service, Interior.
**ACTION:**
Notice.
**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 *[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 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:
• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
• 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.
• 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.