Section 44-12-260. Definitions

   As used in this article, the term:

   (1) "American Indian" means an individual who is a member of a nation, tribe, band, group, or community that was indigenous to Georgia; is a descendant of persons named as American Indians in the Georgia Senate Bill 89, enacted during the legislative session of 1839 (Ga. L. 1839, p. 374); or is a descendant of persons included in the United States Indian Claims Commission, Docket 21, 1962, and those sequel dockets pertaining to the Creek Nation east of the Mississippi River.

   (2) "American Indian tribe" means any nation, tribe, band, group, or community that was indigenous to Georgia and is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of its status as Indian; or whose members are descendants of American Indians indigenous to Georgia.

   (3) "Burial object" means an object that, as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, is reasonably believed to have been placed with individual human remains either at the time of death or later. Such term includes any item defined in paragraph (4) of Code Section 36-72-2 and may also include but not be limited to urns; whole or broken ceramic, metal, or glass vessels; chipped stone tools; ground stone tools; worked bone and shell items; clothing; medals; buttons; jewelry; firearms; edged weapons; and the caskets or containers for the human remains.

   (4) "Burial site" or "burial ground" means an area dedicated to and used for interment of human remains. The fact that the area was used for burial purposes shall be evidence that it was set aside for burial purposes. Such a site may be any natural or prepared physical location, whether originally below, on, or above the surface of the earth, into which, as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, individual human remains are deposited. Such term does not include any cemetery required to be registered with the Secretary of State pursuant to Code Section 10-14-4.

   (5) "Council" means the Council on American Indian Concerns established by Code Section 44-12-280.

   (6) "Cultural affiliation" means that there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced historically or prehistorically between a present day Indian tribe and an identifiable earlier group.

   (7) "Human remains" means the bodies of deceased human beings in any stage of decomposition, including cremated remains.

   (8) "Inventory" means a simple itemized list that summarizes the information called for by this article.

   (9) "Museum" means any institution or state or local government agency or any institution of higher learning that is not included in paragraph (8) of Section 2 of Public Law 101-601.

Code 1981, § 44-12-260, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 1790, § 6; Ga. L. 1993, p. 91, § 44; Ga. L. 2000, p. 882, § 6.