[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 169 (Friday, August 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50994-50995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-20092]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects in the possession of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Siskiyou County, CA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administration responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
    An assessment of documents associated with the human remains and 
associated funerary objects was made by professional staff of the 
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology in consultation with 
representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community 
of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and 
Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of 
California.
    In 1955, human remains representing a minimum of 21 individuals 
were removed from CA-Sis-262 (also known as the Foster site), a site 
located along Bogus Creek in Siskiyou County, CA, by J. Foster, the 
landowner, and J.A. Bennyhoff and A.B. Elsasser of the University of 
California Archaeological Survey. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were accessioned into the museum later that same year 
(Accession UCAS-357). No known individuals were identified. The 31,970 
associated funerary objects are 4 lots of animal bones (including horse 
and dog burials); 3 arrow points; 1 fragment of baked clay; 2 bangles; 
55 basketry fragments; 31,246 beads (approximate count); 73 bells; 1 
belt fragment; 3 blades; 13 bracelets; 2 buckles; 226 buttons; 100 
charcoal fragments (approximate count); 2 china fragments; 1 obsidian 
flake; 2 clappers; 32 cloth fragments; 12 cordage fragments; 1 glass 
fragment; 2 handles; 1 harness; 2 hatched handles; 2 hooks; 5 iron 
fragments; 1 lead or pewter fragment; 1 piece of leather; 2 nail 
fragments; 65 pendants; 2 pestles; 1 pipe fragment; 2 porcelain 
fragments; 2 pots; 1 rivet; 1 rod; 1 scissors fragment; 1 screw; 1 
sheat; 1 shell fragment; 2 sherds; 1 shoe sole; 2 shots; 1 spool; 3 
spoon fragments; 21 animal teeth; 66 thimbles; and 1 wire fragment.
    CA-Sis-262 was an historic cemetery located on the west bank of 
Bogus Creek, a tributary of the Klamath River, about 1 mile south of 
Foster's Ranch. The site was destroyed during the process of diverting 
Bogus Creek from its original course between May 7 and

[[Page 50995]]

May 12, 1955. Prior to the site's destruction, the University of 
California Archaeological Survey received permission to excavate the 
site by the landowner who had earlier removed human remains and 
artifacts. Museum documents indicate that some of the artifacts were 
kept by the landowner while all the human remains were given to the 
museum without, however, any accompanying documentation.
    The antiquity of CA-Sis-262 is known through the presence of Desert 
side notched points that indicate that the site was in use during the 
Tule Lake Phase (after A.D. 1500). The recovery of some coins minted in 
A.D. 1776, 1781, and 1860, further refine the chronological timeline of 
some of the burials. Two newspaper articles, which were published at 
the time of the University of California Archaeological Survey 
excavation, reported that a woman of Indian descent recalled the story 
of a deadly ambush that happened sometime between 1863 and 1866 when a 
German peddler and a group of Shasta were killed by members of the 
Modoc (Sacramento Bee, May 11, 1955; Oakland Tribune, May 29, 1955). 
After the soldiers came and ran off the Modoc, the Shasta went back and 
buried their dead with the exception of the German peddler who was 
buried by the soldiers in a different location. These newspaper 
accounts suggest that (at least part of) the site is the result of a 
deadly skirmish between the Modoc and the Shasta sometime between 1863 
and 1866.
    The Shasta language belongs to the Hokan stock, which is probably 
the oldest language stock in California (Shipley 1978). At the time of 
contact with the Europeans, Shasta-speakers inhabited Siskiyou County, 
as well as parts of Oregon's Jackson and Klamath Counties. The first 
contact with Europeans came in the early part of the 19th century in 
the form of fur trappers, as indicated by the Shasta word for 
``White,'' which is the Chinook Jargon word for ``Boston'' (Silver 
1978:212). The first published personal account of the Shasta came from 
the United States Exploring Expedition that passed through Shasta 
territory in 1841 on its way to San Francisco (Dixon 1907:389). For the 
area and the native population, the biggest impact came with the Gold 
Rush in the 1850s. The destruction of food sources and the general 
hostility of the miners led to a rapid decline in the Shasta 
population. In 1851, the Shasta signed one of the infamous unratified 
treaties. In the agreement, their reservation was to be in Scott 
Valley, CA. In 1856, however, the Shasta were taken first to the Grande 
Ronde and then to the Siletz reservations in Oregon. In 1962, only a 
small number of surviving members were living on the Quartz Valley 
Rancheria in California, which is located in Siskiyou County (Silver 
1978:212). The descendants of the Shasta are members of the 
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and Quartz 
Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California.
    Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of 21 individuals of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology have also determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 
(3)(A), the 31,970 objects described above are reasonably believed to 
have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of 
death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials 
of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a relationship of shared group 
identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and the Confederated 
Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of 
the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and Quartz Valley Indian Community of 
the Quartz Valley Reservation of California.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact Judd King, Interim Director of the Phoebe A. 
Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 
Berkeley, CA 94720, telephone (510) 642-3682, before September 29, 
2008. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and Quartz 
Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California 
may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology is responsible for 
notifying the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of 
Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and 
Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of 
California that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 28, 2008.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-20092 Filed 8-28-08; 8:45 am]
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