[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22248-22249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08775]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0031785; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: San Bernardino County Museum, 
Redlands, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The San Bernardino County 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 San Bernardino County 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 San Bernardino County Museum at the 
address in this notice by May 27, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Tamara Serrao-Leiva, San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 
Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA 92374, telephone (909) 798-8623, 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 San Bernardino 
County Museum, Redlands, CA. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects were removed from San Bernardino 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 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 San 
Bernardino County Museum professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the 
Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, California; Cabazon Band of Mission 
Indians, California; Cahuilla Band of Indians [previously listed as 
Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians of the Cahuilla Reservation, 
California]; Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California; San Manuel 
Band of Mission Indians, California [previously listed as San Manual 
Band of Serrano Mission Indians of the San Manual Reservation]; Santa 
Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, California [previously listed as Santa 
Rosa Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Santa Rosa Reservation]; 
Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians of California; and the 
Mission Creek Band of Mission Indians, a non-federally recognized 
Indian group. The Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians, California 
[previously listed as Augustine Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the 
Augustine Reservation]; Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno 
Indians, California [previously listed as Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla 
& Cupeno Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation]; Ramona Band of 
Cahuilla, California [previously listed as Ramona Band or Village of 
Cahuilla Mission Indians of California]; Torres Martinez Desert 
Cahuilla Indians, California [previously listed as Torres-Martinez Band 
of Cahuilla Mission Indians of California; and the following non-
federally recognized Indian groups: Gabrielino/Tongva Indians of 
California Tribe; Gabrieleno/Tongva Tribal Council; San Gabriel Band of 
Mission Indians; and the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation were invited to 
consult but did not participate. Hereafter, all the Indian Tribes and 
Groups listed above are referred to as ``The Consulted and Invited 
Tribes and Groups.''

History and Description of the Remains

    On June 25, 1971, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed by University of California students from the 
Morongo Valley, at the mouth of Little Morongo Canyon in San Bernardino 
County, CA. These human remains are identified by a label reading 
``SBCM-141'' and ``SBCM-6234.'' The site was first recorded as CA-SBR-
141B by Chase and Redtfel in 1963 and was subsequently recorded as CA-
SBR-148 by Wilkie in 1971. It has been heavily looted over the years. 
The human remains were exhumed from a private homestead owned by Mrs. 
O.S. McKinney. The presence of burnt beads, skull fragments, and other 
bone fragments indicate a cremation. No known individual was 
identified. The 17 associated funerary objects are two lots of worked/
unworked bone, two lots of charcoal, six lots of cremation beads, 
(including A1900-2784, A5-388, A5-389), one lot of glass beads, and six 
stone markers.
    Ethnohistoric evidence indicates that the area around the Morongo 
Valley was occupied by the Serrano, though many Tribes lived and 
travelled through the area. Indeed, a pattern of shared villages or 
territories is evidenced by other nearby sites. One such example is 
Mission Creek just south of the Bobo Site, which is known historically 
to have been shared by the Morongo, Agua

[[Page 22249]]

Caliente, and Whitewater. Intragroup identity is reflected in an extant 
historic marker mounted on a large boulder in Covington Park. Dedicated 
in 1963, the marker reads, ``John Morongo born 1850 was outstanding 
member of the Morongo Class for whom Morongo Basin was named. His 
parents established Big Morongo Oasis. The father belonged to Serrano 
Tribe, and mother to the Cahuilla Tribe.'' A recent Cultural Resources 
Assessment by M. Lerch and G. Smith (1984) notes that native 
consultation was conducted with two Serrano tribal elders, Katherine 
Howard and Dorothy Ramon, who were living at the Morongo Reservation. 
According to M. Lerch (1984) and R. Benedict (1924), the Morongo Valley 
was originally inhabited by the Eastern Serrano groups, the Maringa and 
the Muhiatnim. Place names associated with the Morongo Valley include 
Serrano names such as Maringa, Turka, and Mukumpat.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from the Asistencia (SBCM-714; CA-SBR-2307) in 
San Bernardino County, CA. The human remains are represented by 
fragments of long bones, vertebrae, ribs, carpals/tarsals, maxilla, 
teeth, and various cremated bones. The age and sex of the individuals 
are unknown. No known individuals were identified. The three associated 
funerary objects are one bullet shell, one lot of bird claws, and one 
lot of shell.
    The Asistencia (or Estancia) was a mission outpost constructed in 
the San Bernardino Rancho in 1820, near the native village of Guachama. 
After the establishment of San Gabriel Mission in 1771, mission records 
report contact with Guachama village. The records also record that 
Carlos Garcia, a Spaniard and mayordomo of the Rancho, was directed to 
construct the Estancia a mile from its current location. In 1830, the 
Estancia was relocated to its present site on Barton Road. There, 
Majordomo Juan Alvarado built a new 14-room complex of adobe and 
timber. Four years later, in 1834, this complex was abandoned. During 
the 1840s, some of the buildings were used by Jose del Carmen Lugo as 
part of his land grant. Following its sale to the Mormons, it was 
occupied by Bishop Nathan C. Tenney in the 1850s, and by Ben Barton in 
the 1860s. By 1925, the Estancia was once again ruins, and in 1926, the 
County of San Bernardino and the Historical Society of San Bernardino, 
under the direction of Horace P. Hinckley, removed the remnants of the 
complex and began construction on a new six-room structure. It was 
perhaps during this time that human remains were found. The new 
structure was simply a romanticized reconstruction and would not have 
had a cemetery associated with it. It was completed in 1937, as a joint 
state (SERA) and federal (WPA) relief project. The County of San 
Bernardino stewarded and performed ongoing maintenance on the property 
until 2018, when ownership was transferred to the Redlands Conservancy.
    A preponderance of the evidence supports a determination that these 
two individuals are Native American. There is little evidence that can 
establish a time-period for these human remains, though the 
archeological context suggests a pre-mission date. The Asistencia where 
the human remains were found operated from 1830 to 1834. Ethnohistoric 
evidence indicates that the area around the Guachama was occupied by 
the Serrano, though many Indian Tribes lived and travelled through the 
area, and a diverse native population in this region would have 
attracted a missionary presence.

Determinations Made by the San Bernardino County Museum

    Personnel of the San Bernardino County Museum have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 20 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 Agua 
Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian 
Reservation, California; Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians, California 
[previously listed as Augustine Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the 
Augustine Reservation]; Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, California; 
Cahuilla Band of Indians [previously listed as Cahuilla Band of Mission 
Indians of the Cahuilla Reservation, California]; Los Coyotes Band of 
Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, California [previously listed as Los 
Coyotes Band of Cahuilla & Cupeno Indians of the Los Coyotes 
Reservation]; Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California [previously 
listed as Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Morongo 
Reservation]; Ramona Band of Cahuilla, California [previously listed as 
Ramona Band or Village of Cahuilla Mission Indians of California]; San 
Manuel Band of Mission Indians, California [previously listed as San 
Manual Band of Serrano Mission Indians of the San Manual Reservation]; 
Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, California [previously listed as 
Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Santa Rosa 
Reservation]; and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, 
California [previously listed as Torres-Martinez Band of Cahuilla 
Mission Indians of California] (hereafter referred to as ``The 
Affiliated 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 Tamara Serrao-Leiva, San Bernardino County 
Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, telephone (909) 798-
8623, email [email protected], by May 27, 2021. After 
that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The 
Affiliated Tribes may proceed.
    The San Bernardino County Museum is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted and Invited Tribes and Groups that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: April 19, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-08775 Filed 4-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P