[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19633-19636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07763]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-20589]; [PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Catalina Island Museum, Avalon, 
CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Catalina Island Museum has completed an inventory of human 
remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian tribes 
or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives 
of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in 
this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human 
remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request 
to the Catalina Island Museum. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native 
Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the Catalina Island Museum at the address in 
this notice by May 5, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Michael DeMarsche, Ph.D., Catalina Island Museum, 1 Casino 
Way, Casino Building, P.O. Box 366, Avalon, CA 90704, telephone (310) 
510-2416, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 under the control of the Catalina Island 
Museum, Avalon, CA. The human remains and associated funerary objects 
were removed from Los Angeles County, CA.
    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

[[Page 19634]]

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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Catalina 
Island Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives 
of San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, California (previously listed as 
the San Manual Band of Serrano Mission Indians of the San Manual 
Reservation); Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa 
Ynez Reservation, California; and the following nonfederally recognized 
Indian groups: Gabrielino/Tongva Indians of California Tribe; 
Gabrieleno/Tongva Tribal Council; San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians; 
and the Traditional Council of Pimu.

History and Description of the Remains

    From 1953-1955, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from the Little Harbor Site (CA-SCAI-17) in 
Los Angeles County, California. Dr. Clement Meighan, of Department of 
Anthropology at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and 
students conducted excavations at various times from 1953 to 1955, as 
part of a research project. The collection was returned to the Catalina 
Island Museum as part of the fulfillment of their excavation permit in 
1996. Radiocarbon dating is from the Early Period (5580 B.C.), and was 
occupied until Spanish contact based on the presence of glass trade 
beads. The date of these human remains is assumed to be fairly late 
considering its proximity to the surface. The human remains are 
represented by one adult individual of indeterminate sex and one 
individual represented by a human phalanx with age and sex 
indeterminable. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects were present.
    In 1977, human remains representing, at minimum, 22 individuals 
were removed from Ripper's Cove (SCAI-26) in Los Angeles County, CA. 
Fred Reinman and Hal Eberhart of the California State University, Los 
Angeles, Department of Anthropology excavated the site as a field 
school. The collection was returned to the Catalina Island Museum as 
part of the fulfillment of their excavation permit in 1996. Radiocarbon 
dates the site from A.D. 1340 to 1730. The collection included four 
identified burials from Ripper's Cove along with fragmentary human 
remains from midden contexts. The human remains were determined to be 
17 adults, a sub-adult, two juveniles, and an infant, all of 
indeterminate sex, and one individual that could not identified to age 
or sex. No known individuals were identified. The 176 associated 
funerary objects include 1 projectile point, 125 shell beads, 1 bag of 
shell beads, 2 fishhook fragments, 2 fragments and 2 bags of shell, 2 
fish gorges, 8 red ochre fragments, 6 stone flakes, 6 ground stone 
fragments, 7 pieces and 2 bags of unmodified animal bone, 3 bags of 
charcoal, 8 pieces and 1 bag of stone fragments.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, five 
individuals were removed from the former location of the Busy Bee 
Restaurant, Avalon, in Los Angeles County, CA. The location within the 
village site designated as SCAI-29. The human remains were found during 
renovations at the restaurant and donated to the Catalina Island Museum 
in 1983 (accessioned as 83.031). There is no date associated with the 
human remains. Osteological analysis identified the human remains to be 
Native American. The five individuals were identified as perinatal, two 
children, one juvenile, and one adult in age. Sex could not be 
determined. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In February 1973, human remains representing, at minimum, four 
individuals were removed from Torqua Cave (SCAI-32) in Los Angeles 
County, CA. This collection was excavated by Nelson Leonard, III of 
University of California, Riverside, and his undergraduate students as 
a research project. The collection was returned to the Catalina Island 
Museum as part of the fulfillment of their excavation permit in 1996. 
No dates have been determined for the site. One burial was 
distinguished during excavation. Additional human remains were 
identified from faunal bone. A minimum of four individuals are included 
in the collection, two of which are adults and one sub-adult. Sex of 
these human remains could not be determined. The fourth set of human 
remains was not distinguishable to age or sex. No known individuals 
were identified. The one associated funerary object is one bag of soil 
taken from the burial matrix.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, six 
individuals were removed from Empire Landing (CA-SCAI-26) in Los 
Angeles County, CA. The site was excavated by Vivian Scott, who donated 
the collection to the Catalina Island Museum in 1968 (accessioned as 
68.015). Site SCAI-26 dates from at least the Late Period (A.D. 700-
1769) through Spanish contact based on artifact types. The human 
remains were identified as five adults, three of them female, and one 
juvenile. No known individuals were identified. The two associated 
funerary objects are one fish bone and one shell fragment.
    In February 1968, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Empire Landing in Los Angeles County, CA. 
These human remains were excavated by P. Williams of the Catalina 
Laboratory for Archaeology (CLFA) from the Empire Landing area along a 
cliff edge where there is a midden. There was a stone slab above the 
burial, but there is no record of the slab being collected. The 
collection was turned over to the Catalina Island Museum after 
analysis. SCAI-26 is close by and dates from at least the Late Period 
(A.D. 700-1769) through Spanish contact based on artifact types. 
Fragmentary human remains of a Native American adult female were 
identified. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In April 1970 and 1972, human remains representing, at minimum 15 
individuals were removed from White's Landing (SCAI-34) in Los Angeles 
County, CA. The first excavation was led by UCLA undergraduate Dean 
Decker, in April 1970, as part of the University of California 
Archaeological Survey. Their goal was to assess settlement patterns on 
the island using White's Landing West as one chosen site for comparison 
and analysis. Students from UCLA and the Catalina Island School for 
Boys assisted in the fieldwork for this project. Catalina Island School 
(CIS) returned to White's Landing West with Mayfield School in 1972, 
and continued to excavate the principal village at this cove. The 
project was likely led by CIS staff archeologist Richard ``Duke'' 
Snyder. However, the documentation associated with this separate 
project is scant at best. The UCLA archeological excavations were sent 
to the Catalina Island Museum as part of the permit stipulation in 
1983. The CIS material was curated with the Catalina Island Museum upon 
completion of the fieldwork. SCAI-34 dates from at least the Late 
Period (A.D. 700-1769) through Spanish contact based on artifact types. 
While only two formal burials were designated in the catalog, 
fragmentary human remains were pulled from midden contexts as well. The 
15 individuals have been identified as 9 adults, 2 juveniles, 2 
subadults, and one infant. One individual was to

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fragmentary to determine age or sex. Two of the adults were further 
defined as male. No known individuals were identified. The 60 
associated funerary objects are 22 shell fishhook blanks, 2 projectile 
points, 1 steatite bowl, 1 net weight, 1 bag of charcoal fragments, 18 
pieces and 2 bags of unmodified animal bone, 1 worked bone fragment, 3 
pieces of worked shell, 2 unmodified wavy top shells, 1 stone fragment, 
5 chipped stone and tools, and 1 stone core fragment.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, 10 
individuals were removed from Two Harbors (CA-SCAI-39) in Los Angeles 
County, CA. The site was excavated by Preston Taylor, who ran the 
concessions at Two Harbors during the time. He donated the collection 
of human remains to the Catalina Island Museum in 1961, and it was 
accessioned as 61.501. SCAI-39 dates from at least the Late Period 
(A.D. 700-1769) through Spanish contact based on artifact types. There 
were a nine adults and one juvenile identified. Further analysis 
identified four of them as female. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In August 1963, human remains representing, at minimum, six 
individuals were removed from Two Harbors (SCAI-39) in Los Angeles 
County, CA. The human remains were recovered by Dorothy Cowper, from 
construction activities associated with a fuel line. As a docent at the 
Southwest Museum, she, along with other visitors and Catalina locals, 
recovered materials that were being destroyed. Many of the artifacts 
appear to have left with the amateur excavators as souvenirs as 
indicated in letters between Cowper and the excavators. Records 
indicate that the human remains were eventually obtained by UCLA from 
Ben Hawkins, a zoologist at San Jacinto College, who was on site with 
Cowper in 1963, and donated to the Catalina Island Museum in 1996. 
SCAI-39 dates from at least the Late Period (A.D. 700-1769) through 
Spanish contact based on artifact types. The human remains were 
identified as four adults, and two sub-adults. Two of the adults were 
further distinguished as female. No known individuals were identified. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    In October and November 1969, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 70 individuals were removed from Two Harbors (CA-SCAI-39) in 
Los Angeles County, CA. The University of California Archaeological 
Survey undertook salvage recovery excavations, where the demolition of 
structures would impact the site. This salvage excavation was 
accomplished with the help of volunteers from Catalina Island School 
for Boys, Catalina Island Museum Society, and CEDAM International. The 
collection was returned to the Catalina Island Museum as part of the 
fulfillment of their excavation permit in 1996. SCAI-39 dates from at 
least the Late Period (A.D. 700-1769) through Spanish contact based on 
diagnostic artifact types. While there were 16 formal burials 
identified, many fragmentary human remains were encountered in midden 
contexts. The 70 individuals were identified as 47 adults (12 
distinguished as female and 9 as male), 8 sub-adults, 6 juveniles, 5 
infants, 1 neonatal, and 2 perinatal. One set of human remains could 
not be further identified with age or sex. No known individuals were 
identified. The 226 associated funerary objects include 56 shell and 
stone beads, 1 fishhook blank, 1 basketry fragment, 1 soapstone plaque, 
6 soapstone worked fragments, 5 quartz fragments, 6 stone flakes, 1 
core, 1 cobble with asphaltum residue, 2 projectile points, 7 bowl 
fragments, 1 mano fragment, 4 donut stone fragments, 10 burned seeds, 9 
bone awls, 7 charcoal fragments, 101 pieces and 1 bag of unmodified 
shell, 3 pieces and 2 bags of unmodified animal bone, and 1 bag of 
stone fragments.
    In September 1954, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from Parson's Landing (CA-SCAI-102) in Los 
Angeles County, CA. Dr. Clement Meighan of UCLA, and his students, 
excavated one test pit and encountered a burial (UCLA Accession 166) as 
part of a research project. The collection was returned to the Catalina 
Island Museum as part of the fulfillment of their excavation permit in 
1996. No date has been determined for the site or burial, but 
diagnostic artifacts from the site identify it as prehistoric. The two 
individuals were identified as an adult male and an adult of 
indeterminate sex. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In April 1971, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the West End Site (SCAI-106) in Los 
Angeles County, CA. Fredric Plog led a UCLA undergraduate field course 
at the prehistoric site. Analysis continued with the collection at 
UCLA. The collection was returned to the Catalina Island Museum as part 
of the fulfillment of their excavation permit in 1996. No dates have 
been determined for the site. While no formal burials were removed, a 
single adult human phalanx was identified within the faunal remains. 
Sex could not be determined. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In the summers of 1980 and 1981, human remains representing, at 
minimum, four individuals were removed from Bullrush Canyon (CA-SCAI-
137) in Los Angeles County, CA. The site was excavated by Jane 
Rosenthal, of California State University, Long Beach, as an 
undergraduate field school. The site is estimated to A.D. 1600-1700 
based on radiocarbon dating. The collection was donated to the Catalina 
Island Museum in fulfillment of their Catalina Island Conservancy 
permit upon competition of their analysis. No formal burials or 
funerary objects were identified. Fragmentary human remains were 
discovered among faunal remains from the collection. Age and sex of the 
human remains could not be determined. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    From 1967 to 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, 17 
individuals were removed from Toyon Bay (CA-SCAI-564) in Los Angeles 
County, CA. Jack Zahniser, of the Catalina Laboratory for Archaeology 
(CLFA), and his students from the Catalina Island Boy's School, 
undertook salvage recovery during the construction of a new boathouse 
and the installation of a septic tank. The collection was turned over 
to the Catalina Island Museum after analysis was completed. Radiocarbon 
dating estimates site occupation from A.D. 465 to 1685. The collection 
contains eleven recorded burials and fragmentary human remains found 
within midden contexts. The 17 individuals were identified as 12 adults 
(including 2 males and 2 females), 1 sub-adult, 2 infants, and 1 
perinatal. One individual was too fragmentary to determine age or sex. 
No known individuals were identified. The 97 associated funerary 
objects are 24 shell and stone beads, 5 donut stones, 35 ground stone 
tools and fragments, 2 projectile points, 5 effigies, 13 shell and 
stone pendants and ornaments, 1 pipe fragment, 2 bowl fragments, 2 
unmodified shell fragments, 5 chipped stone tools and flakes, 2 worked 
bone fragments, and 1 fishhook.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from an archeological site at Little Gibraltar 
in Los Angeles County, CA. The human remains were found eroding from 
the area by Catalina Island Company staff and donated to the Catalina 
Island Museum in 1974 (accessioned as 74.253). There is no date 
associated with the human remains. One set of

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human remains was identified as an adult female of Native American 
ancestry based on metric and non-metric traits. The other human remains 
were too fragmentary to identify further. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Renton's Mine streambed in Los Angeles 
County, CA. The human remains were found eroding from the streambed by 
Buzzy Vickers, and donated to the Catalina Island Museum in 1977 
(accessioned as 77.030). There is no date associated with the human 
remains, but they were found near a known prehistoric archeological 
site. Fragmentary human remains of an adult female of Native American 
origin were identified through osteological analysis. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    The sites detailed in this notice have been identified by 
consultation to be within the traditional territories of the Gabrielino 
(Tongva) with ancestral ties to the Chumash island people. 
Archeological and ethnohistoric evidence shows that these contact 
Takic-speaking peoples lived on the southern Channel Islands by at 
least 5,000 B.C. Island Tongva and Chumash groups have strong ancestral 
ties through marriage and trade. Analysis of historical records from 
missions in the Greater Los Angeles area demonstrate kinship ties 
between these two communities made stronger while in the mission 
system. The present-day Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians 
traces an earlier shared group identity with the Gabrielino (Tongva) 
people that inhabited the Channel Islands during the Middle period and 
through contact.
    Associated funerary objects are consistent with those of groups 
ancestral to the present-day Gabrielino (Tongva) and Chumash people. 
The material culture of earlier groups living in the geographical areas 
mentioned above are characterized by archeologists as having passed 
through stages over the past 5,000 years. Many local archeologists 
assert that the changes in the material culture reflect evolving 
ecological adaptations and related changes in social organization of 
the same populations, and do not represent population displacements or 
movements. The same range of artifact types and materials were used 
from the pre-contact period until historic times. Native consultants 
explicitly state that population mixing, which did occur, would not 
alter the continuity of the shared group identities of people 
associated with specific locales. Based on this evidence, continuity 
through time can be traced for all sites listed above with present-day 
Gabrielino (Tongva) and Chumash people. Santa Ynez Band of Chumash 
Mission Indians tribal members descend from the Channel Islands and 
specifically represent an ancestral tie to the Gabrielino (Tongva) and 
Catalina Island by preponderance of the evidence.

Determinations Made by the Catalina Island Museum

    Officials of the Catalina Island Museum have determined that:

     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains 
described in this notice represent the physical remains of 164 
individuals of Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 563 objects 
described in this notice 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.
     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 Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez 
Reservation, California.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Michael DeMarsche, Ph.D., Catalina Island 
Museum, 1 Casino Way, Casino Building, P.O. Box 366, Avalon, CA 90704, 
telephone (310) 510-2416, email [email protected], by May 5, 
2016. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, California.
    The Catalina Island Museum is responsible for notifying the San 
Manuel Band of Mission Indians, California (previously listed as the 
San Manual Band of Serrano Mission Indians of the San Manual 
Reservation); Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa 
Ynez Reservation, California; and the following nonfederally recognized 
Indian groups: Gabrielino/Tongva Indians of California Tribe; 
Gabrieleno/Tongva Tribal Council; San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians; 
and the Traditional Council of Pimu that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: March 10, 2016.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2016-07763 Filed 4-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-50-P