[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 124 (Thursday, June 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42098-42099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13816]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036097; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: California State University, 
Chico, Chico, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the California State University Chico (CSU 
Chico) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Butte 
County, CA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after July 31, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Dawn Rewolinski, California State University, Chico, 400 W 
1st Street, Chico, CA 95929, telephone (530) 898-3090, email 
[email protected].

[[Page 42099]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of CSU 
Chico The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice. Additional information on the 
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the inventory or related records held by CSU Chico.

Description

Accession 47

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 14 individuals were removed 
from site CA-BUT-323 in Butte County, CA. This site was first recorded 
by John R. Sterling in 1962. It was re-recorded by M. Boyton of Chico 
State College (now CSU Chico) in 1971, by which time it had been nearly 
destroyed. Collections records indicate that artifacts and human 
remains were collected by Chico State College in 1971. The 8,800 
associated funerary objects are three antler awls, two charcoal 
samples, 4,655 fragments of debitage, 98 modified faunal elements, 33 
modified shells, 182 modified stone tools, nine oversized stone tools, 
115 projectile points, 10 soil samples, five clay samples, 3,316 
unmodified faunal elements, 220 unmodified shell fragments, and 152 
organics.

Accession 48

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 67 individuals were removed 
from the Cana Highway site (CA-BUT-288) in Butte County, CA. This site 
was first recorded by Dorothy Hill and Keith Johnson in 1966. From 1971 
to 1974, it was excavated by a CSU Chico field class supervised by 
Professor Makato Kowta. The 7,513 associated funerary objects are 13 
organics, 3,165 lots consisting of debitage, 948 modified stones, 150 
projectile points, 332 unmodified shells, 32 modified shells, 145 ash 
samples, 246 charcoal samples, 35 soil samples, 386 faunal remains, 97 
modified faunal remains, 157 clay samples, and 1,807 pieces of modified 
clay.

Accession 79

    Human remains representing, at minimum, eight individuals were 
removed from Butte County, CA. In 1974, after four burials were exposed 
by land levelling operations, these human remains were collected from 
The Carmen Ranch Site by John Furry, who was likely a student at CSU 
Chico. The collection has been at CSU Chico since that time. The 18 
associated funerary objects are one bone awl, one stone core, 10 
modified stones, five unmodified animal bones, and one antler wedge.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice 
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, 
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity 
between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures 
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The 
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: anthropological, archeological, historical, and expert 
opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, CSU Chico has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 89 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 16,331 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of 
Chico Rancheria, California and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians of 
California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation 
may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal 
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 31, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, CSU Chico must 
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. CSU Chico is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: June 21, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-13816 Filed 6-28-23; 8:45 am]
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