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of such activities adhered strictly to NAGPRA protocols. In 2012 Dr. Daniel Bigman, then a graduate
student at the University of Georgia, presented his dissertation, An Early Mississippian Settlement of
Ocmulgee, for doctoral consideration. His research combined noninvasive techniques, including GPS
topography, electromagnetic conductivity, and electroresitivity, along with a slightly more invasive
posthole and magnetic susceptibility testing to attempt to explain the settlement patterns on the Macon
Plateau during the Early Mississippian period.42 Prior to conducting these surveys, Dr. Bigman and the
NPS contacted the twelve Native nations with NAGPRA rights to invite them to a consultation;
however, only the Muscogee Creek Nation responded.43 The Creek Nation had no issues with the
proposed survey, and gave consent for the work to move forward.44

Along with offering a chance for the Muscogee Nation to actively engage in aspects of
maintenance of the site, the ways in which their history is presented, and any archaeological
exploration of the Ocmulgee National Monument, NAGPRA legislation has also led to the notification
of Creek Nation to the National Park Service's possession of remains constituting nine individuals from
the main mound complex, as well as 37 funerary objects from the Lamar site at the Ocmulgee National
Monument.45 The National Park Service and the Muscogee Creek Nation are currently in the process of
repatriation of these remains and objects.46 Though the NPS is subject to NAGPRA, another institution
that holds some human remains and other culturally significant objects from the Omulgee National
Park is not bound by this legislation. The Smithsonian Institute holds many of the human remains,
funerary objects, and sacred artifacts uncovered during the 1930's Kelly expeditions. Although
repatriation of these objects are not mandated through NAGPRA, as the Smithsonian Institute is subject
to the National Museum of the American Indian Act,47 the Institute, the NPS, and the Muscogee Nation

42 Bigman, “An Early Mississippian Settlement History of Ocmulgee,” 5-21.
43 David, Interview.
44 Ibid.
45 US Department of the Interior, Notice, June 18, 2001vol. 66, no. 117, accessed March 1, 2016,

https://www.nps.gov/nagpra/fed_notices/nagpradir/nic0540.html.
46 David, Interview.
47 Department of Anthropology, “Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed February 20, 2016,