[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 42 (Thursday, March 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9627-9628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4672]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Raymond M. Alf Museum of 
Paleontology, Claremont, 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 in the control of the 
Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, Claremont, CA. The human remains 
were removed from San Juan County, WA, and British Columbia, Canada.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative 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

[[Page 9628]]

American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Raymond M. 
Alf Museum of Paleontology professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, 
Washington.
    In 1963, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from San Juan Island, San Juan County, WA. A location card 
is associated with the human remains, but no additional information 
exists on the circumstances of removal. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The San Juan Islands are located in the northwest corner of 
Washington State immediately adjacent to the Canadian border. The San 
Juan Islands are part of the traditional area of the Central Coast 
Salish. Four permanent villages and one seasonal village are located on 
the North end of San Juan Island and are believed to be the home of the 
Songhees and Lummi. The seasonal village shows continual occupation for 
at least 5,000 years. Based on geographical location, officials of the 
Raymond M. Alf Museum reasonably believe that there is a shared group 
relationship of the human remains removed from San Juan Island with 
members of the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, Washington.
    In 1936, human remains representing a minimum of four individuals 
were removed from ``Wallace Island'' in British Columbia, Canada. No 
information exists on the circumstance of removal, other than a 
location card. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Wallace Island is located across the Boundary Pass from San Juan 
Island in Washington State. Aboriginal use of the Wallace Island is 
believed to date back at least 5,000 years, and it was in use at the 
time of European contact. Coastal Salish traditional territory includes 
the island, and has been the seasonal home of many Coast Salish groups. 
The Coast Salish in that area spoke different dialects of the Northern 
Straits Salish or Lekwungaynung language.
    The Northern Straits Salish language stock, includes a number of 
dialects: Saanich, Samish, Songish, Sooke, Semiahmoo, and Lummi, which 
are similar enough that a speaker of one could understand a speaker of 
another. The Lummi spoke the Songish or Songhee dialect (also known as 
the Lekwungen or Lekungen). The Lummi Tribe is a part of the Coast 
Salish ethnolinguistic group, and Lummi is a dialect of the Northern 
Straits Salish. The Samish, Lummi, and Semiahmoo controlled the extreme 
northern coast of Washington and the southwestern corner of British 
Columbia, where ``Wallace Island'' is located. Based on language and 
geographical location, officials of the Raymond M. Alf Museum 
reasonably believe that there is a shared group relationship to the 
individuals removed from ``Wallace Island'' with members of the Lummi 
Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, Washington.
    Officials of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of five individuals of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of 
Paleontology also 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 the Lummi Tribe of 
the Lummi Reservation, Washington.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Don 
Lofgren, Director, Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, 1175 West 
Baseline Road, Claremont, CA 91711, telephone (909) 624-2798, before 
April 6, 2009. Repatriation of the human remains to the Lummi Tribe of 
the Lummi Reservation, Washington may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology is responsible for notifying 
the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, Washington that this notice 
has been published.

    Dated: January 14, 2009.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-4672 Filed 3-4-09; 8:45 am]
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