[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52526-52527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22590]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0026534; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Parks 
and Recreation, Sacramento, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The California Department of Parks and Recreation 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 California Department of 
Parks and Recreation. 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 California Department of Parks and 
Recreation at the address in this notice by November 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Leslie Hartzell, Ph.D., NAGPRA Coordinator, Cultural 
Resources Division Chief, California State Parks, P.O. Box 942896, 
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, telephone (916) 653-9946, 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 California 
Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, CA. The human remains 
and associated funerary objects were removed from Mitchell Caverns (CA-
SBR-117), San Bernardino, 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 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 
California Department of Parks and Recreation professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the 
Chemehuevi Reservation, California and the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of 
Mission Indians of California.
    The Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian 
Reservation, Arizona and California, and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe 
of Arizona, California, & Nevada were invited to consult but did not 
participate.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1968, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Mitchell Caverns (CA-SBR-117) in San Bernardino, CA. 
The human remains were uncovered during a construction project in El 
Pakiva cave, and were collected by Park Supervisor Frank L. Fairchild. 
The human remains were sent from Mitchell Caverns State Reserve to the 
California Department of Parks and Recreation headquarters in 
Sacramento, CA on May 29, 1968, where they were cataloged. The human 
remains consist of a mandible of a juvenile, aged 8-9 years. No known 
individuals were identified. The 10 associated funerary objects are: 
One sheep scapula, one bone needle, two bone awls, two bone tools, two 
bifaces, one abalone shell, and one lot of acorn fragments.
    It is estimated that El Pakiva cave was used from A.D. 500 until 
historic contact. There is no known date for the human remains removed 
from the cave. The cave's geographic affiliation and archeological 
context are consistent with the historically documented Chemehuevi. 
Archeological and linguistic evidence suggest the ancestral Chemehuevi 
were present in the area by A.D. 1000 to 1200, and perhaps even 
earlier. Based on consultation with the Tribes of the region and the 
historic circumstances of the relationship between the historic 
Chemehuevi and Mojave peoples, the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation Committee on Repatriation determined

[[Page 52527]]

that there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be 
reasonably traced between these Native American human remains and the 
Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation, California; 
Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, 
Arizona and California; Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California 
& Nevada; and the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians of 
California, hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes.''

Determinations Made by the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation

    Officials of the California Department of Parks and Recreation have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 10 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 Tribes.

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 Leslie Hartzell, Ph.D., NAGPRA Coordinator, 
Cultural Resources Division Chief, California State Parks, P.O. Box 
942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, telephone (916) 653-9946, email 
[email protected], by November 16, 2018. After that date, if 
no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes may 
proceed.
    The California Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible 
for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 19, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-22590 Filed 10-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P