[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47512-47513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18266]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0032449; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of California, 
Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, 
San Francisco District, San Francisco, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The University of California, Berkeley and the United States 
Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District have jointly completed 
an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations, and have 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 University of California, Berkeley or the United 
States Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District. 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 University of California, Berkeley or the 
United States Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District at the 
address in this notice by September 24, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Thomas Torma, NAGPRA Liaison, 
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 119 California Hall, 
Berkeley, CA 94720-1500, telephone (512) 672-5388, email 
[email protected] and/or Kathleen Ungvarsky, M.A., RPA, United 
States Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, 450 Golden Gate 
Avenue, Suite 4-201, San Francisco, CA 94103-1001, telephone (415) 503-
6842, 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 University of 
California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA, and the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers, San Francisco District, San Francisco, CA. The human remains 
and associated funerary objects were removed from around Humboldt Bay, 
Humboldt County, CA, and they are presently located at the University 
of California, Berkeley.
    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 
University of California, Berkeley and the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers, San Francisco District professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Wiyot Tribe, California [previously listed 
as Table Bluff Reservation--Wiyot Tribe].

History and Description of the Remains

    In October 1953, human remains representing, at minimum, 20 
individuals were removed from CA-HUM-112 in Humboldt County, CA, by 
Albert B. Elsasser and James Allan Bennyhoff. The human remains had 
been discovered by F. Hodgkinson, the night editor for the Humboldt 
Times. The remains likely were exposed as a result of a United States 
Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District (USACE) project nearby, 
but whether they were removed from USACE-controlled property is 
unclear. Some museum records suggest that they were under the control 
of the USACE, while others suggest that they were under the 
jurisdiction of the Humboldt County Sheriff. Because the matter of 
control is unclear, this notice is being submitted jointly by the 
University of California, Berkeley and the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers, San Francisco District. As most of the human remains were 
sorted by skeletal element, the age and the sex of the individuals were 
not

[[Page 47513]]

recorded. No known individuals were identified.
    The 136 associated funerary objects are counted and described 
according to individual catalog entries as follows: 59 entries 
described as ``Beads''; 25 entries described as ``Bead''; 33 entries 
described as ``Ornament''; one entry described as ``Ornament 
Fragment''; one entry described as ``Dentalia''; one entry described as 
``Arrowhead Fragment''; two entries described as ``Flake''; one entry 
described as ``Sinker (Fishing)''; one entry described as ``Worked 
Stone''; one entry described as ``Flakes''; two entries described as 
``Bone (tools)''; one entry described as ``Potsherd''; one entry 
described as ``Ceramic Fragment''; one entry described as ``Knife''; 
one entry described as ``Hook and Eye''; one entry described as 
``Rod''; one entry described as ``Metal Fragments''; one entry 
described as ``Cloth Fragments''; one entry described as ``Tooth 
(elk)''; and one entry described as ``Bone and beads.'' Based on the 
condition of the human remains, the concentration of European-American 
manufactured goods, and the location of the human remains, these human 
remains likely belong to the victims of the Indian Island Massacre, 
which took place on February 26, 1860.
    Most of the sites around Humboldt Bay date to the creation of the 
Bay approximately 5000-7000 years ago. Based on archeological and Wiyot 
oral traditional evidence, Wiyot have occupied this area since before 
the creation of Humboldt Bay. Wiyot culture is represented by the Bear 
River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, the Blue Lake Rancheria, and 
the Wiyot Tribe.

Determinations Made by the University of California, Berkeley and the 
United States Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District

    Officials of the University of California, Berkeley and the United 
States Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District have determined 
that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of at least 20 
individuals of Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 136 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 Bear 
River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, California; Blue Lake 
Rancheria, California; and the Wiyot Tribe, California [previously 
listed as Table Bluff Reservation--Wiyot Tribe].

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 Dr. Thomas Torma, NAGPRA Liaison, Office of 
the Vice Chancellor for Research, 119 California Hall, Berkeley, CA 
94720-1500, telephone (512) 672-5388, email [email protected] and/or 
Kathleen Ungvarsky M.A., RPA, San Francisco District Archaeologist, 450 
Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 4-201, San Francisco, CA 94103, telephone 
(415) 503-6842, email [email protected], by September 
24, 2021. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, 
California; Blue Lake Rancheria, California; and the Wiyot Tribe, 
California [previously listed as Table Bluff Reservation--Wiyot Tribe] 
may proceed.
    The University of California, Berkeley and the United States Army 
Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District is responsible for notifying 
the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, California; Blue Lake 
Rancheria, California; and Wiyot Tribe, California [previously listed 
as Table Bluff Reservation--Wiyot Tribe] that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: August 11, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-18266 Filed 8-24-21; 8:45 am]
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