[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 124 (Thursday, June 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42099-42101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13817]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036098; 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 
and Glenn Counties, 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].

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

[[Page 42100]]

the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related 
records held by CSU Chico.

Description

CA-BUT-1

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 58 individuals were removed 
from the Patrick site (CA-BUT-1) in Butte County, CA. This site was 
first recorded in 1947 by T. D. McCown, University of California, 
Berkeley, for the U.S. Archeological Survey. In 1965 and 1966, 
excavations at the Patrick site were led by Donald S. Miller, 
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Keith R. Johnson, CSU 
Chico. Between 1966 and 1969, the collection was at UCLA for storage 
and analysis. At an unknown point, some of the materials and records 
were moved to CSU Chico. The 874 associated funerary objects are 55 
organics, two lots consisting of debitage, two projectile points, 518 
fragments of shell, 25 samples of soil, 239 lots consisting of faunal 
remains, and 33 fragments of ochre.

Accession 4

    Human remains representing, at minimum, eight individuals were 
removed from the Finch site (CA-BUT-12) in Butte County, CA. This site 
was first recorded by A. Pilling in 1949 and was rerecorded by Dorothy 
Hill in 1963. In the summer of 1963, Francis Riddell led a Chico State 
College (now CSU Chico) field class in excavations at the site, and in 
the spring of 1964, Professor Keith Johnson, accompanied by Riddell, 
led a second excavation at the site, again with a Chico State College 
field class. In the summer of 1967, Joseph Chartkoff (then at UCLA) led 
an excavation at the site (the 1967 collections are not under the 
control of CSU Chico). In the spring of 1983 and the spring of 1984, 
Professor Makoto Kowta led a CSU Chico field class in excavations at 
the site. The 12,302 associated funerary objects are 373 organics, 
7,708 lots consisting of debitage, 272 modified stone fragments, 234 
projectile points, 160 unmodified shells, 410 modified shell beads, 
five lots of ash, 196 samples of charcoal, one piece of petrified wood, 
56 lots of soil, 2,479 unmodified faunal elements, 370 modified faunal 
elements, 23 clay fragments, 14 modified clay fragments, and one ochre 
fragment.

Accession 10

    Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were 
removed from the Sycamore Canyon Rock shelter site (CA-BUT-473) in 
Butte County, CA. This site was first recorded by Keith Johnson and two 
Chico State College (now CSU Chico) students in 1964, and in 1965, it 
was excavated by a Chico State College field class led by Keith 
Johnson. The 251 associated funerary objects are five organics, 17 lots 
consisting of debitage, 48 modified stone fragments, 57 projectile 
points, 114 unmodified shell fragments, three modified shell beads, 
three unmodified faunal elements, and four modified faunal elements.

Accession 19

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 66 individuals were removed 
from the Llano Seco site in Butte County, CA. This site was first 
recorded in 1965 by G. Yamamoto, and it was rerecorded by Dorothy Hill 
and Keith Johnson of Chico State College (now CSU Chico) in 1966. From 
1966 to 1968, excavations were conducted at the site by Keith Johnson 
and the Chico State College field school. The 3,498 associated funerary 
objects are 190 organics, 1,387 lots consisting of debitage, 504 
modified stone fragments, 192 projectile points, three unmodified 
shells, 439 modified shell fragments, two lots of ash, 96 samples of 
charcoal, one piece of petrified wood, five lots of soil, 525 
unmodified faunal elements, 131 modified faunal elements, and 23 clay 
fragments.

Accession 21

    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from the Rock Creek Levee Mound site in Butte, County, CA. This 
site was first recorded by Dorothy Hill of CSU Chico. She indicated 
that the site had been partially destroyed by levelling activities and 
the creation of a cut for a levee. Collections records suggest that 
cultural items and human remains were collected at that time and no 
further collection took place. The three associated funerary objects 
are modified stone fragments.

Accession 25

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the M&T Ranch site (CA-BUT-434) in Butte County, CA. This site was 
first recorded by Dorothy Hill of Chico State College (now CSU Chico) 
in 1962 after a burial was found eroding into the Sacramento River. 
Collections records indicate that the burial and affiliated artifacts 
were excavated by Dorothy Hill in 1967. The 283 associated funerary 
objects are 278 modified shell fragments and five modified faunal 
elements.

Accession 26

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Chico Rancheria Cemetery site (CA-BUT-574) in Butte County, 
CA. This site is a historic Mechoopda cemetery that lies within the 
city of Chico. In 1967, three burials in cedar caskets were exposed 
when a septic tank was installed. Burials One and Two were heavily 
disturbed. Collections records indicate that only human remains and 
affiliated burial objects from Burial One were brought to CSU Chico, 
where they are currently housed. Some artifacts and human remains from 
these burials were removed by construction workers, and their current 
location is unknown. Burial Three was intact and the contents were 
reburied on site. The 1,667 associated funerary objects are 315 
modified shells, 1,350 glass beads, one modified stone, and one coffin 
fragment.

Accession 32

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 147 individuals were 
removed from the Wurlitzer Ranch site in Butte County, CA. This site 
was first recorded by Dorothy Hill in 1968, though it had been known to 
locals for many years. Chico State College field schools 
archeologically investigated the site from 1969 to 1971. The collection 
was formally donated to CSU Chico in 1981. The 4,201 associated 
funerary objects are five organics, 1,590 lots consisting of debitage, 
1,660 modified stone fragments, 454 projectile points, six unmodified 
shell fragments, 76 modified shell fragments, three lots of ash, 19 
samples of soil, 230 faunal elements, 76 modified faunal elements, 77 
clay fragments, and five ochre fragments.

Accession 33

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Whiskey Dog site (CA-BUT-300) in Butte County, CA. This site 
was first recorded in 1969 by CSU Chico under the direction of Chico 
State College faculty. The 70 associated funerary objects are seven 
lots consisting of debitage, 27 modified stone fragments, nine 
projectile points, 19 samples of charcoal, five modified faunal 
elements, two clay fragments, and one modified clay fragment.

Accessions 40-44

    Human remains representing, at minimum, six individuals were 
removed from the Richardson Springs site (CA-BUT-7) in Butte County, 
CA. This site was first located and recorded in 1949 by A. R. Pilling 
and was rerecorded in 1971. In 1970, it was excavated by a joint Chico 
State College and Queens College, City University of

[[Page 42101]]

New York field school. In 1973, Richardson Springs was listed on the 
National Register of Historic Places under the name Mud Creek Canyon. 
The 7,777 associated funerary objects are 89 lots of organics, 3,033 
lots consisting of debitage, 1,254 modified stone fragments, 347 
projectile points, 398 lots consisting of unmodified shell fragments, 
163 modified shell fragments, one sample of ash, 443 samples of 
charcoal, 11 pieces of petrified wood, 132 samples of soil, 1,849 lots 
consisting of faunal elements, 42 modified faunal elements, 14 clay 
fragments, and one ochre fragment.

Accession 52

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Wilson Landing Road site (CA-BUT-529) in Butte County, CA. 
This site was first identified by Dorothy Hill at an unknown date. In 
1971, after reports of a burial removed by a worker discing the site in 
preparation for planting, it was recorded by Makato Kowta and M. 
Boyton, at which time cultural items and human remains were collected. 
The 22 associated funerary objects are four lots consisting of 
debitage, one oversized stone tool, and 17 modified stones.

Accession 55

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 22 individuals were removed 
from the Ellsworth Whyler site (CA-GLE-101) in Glenn County, CA. This 
site was first recorded by Keith Johnson of CSU Chico in 1971. In the 
summer of 1972, it was excavated by a CSU Chico field class under the 
supervision of Keith Johnson. The 1,348 associated funerary objects are 
one organic, 160 lots consisting of debitage, 60 modified stone 
fragments, 54 projectile points, 14 unmodified shell fragments, six 
modified shell fragments, 23 ash samples, one soil sample, 926 faunal 
elements, 100 modified faunal elements, and three modified clay 
fragments.

Accession 68

    Human remains representing, at minimum, six individuals were 
removed from Site CA-GLE-105 in Glenn County, CA. This site was 
originally recorded by Keith Johnson in 1973. Johnson noted that 
potentially 50% of the site had already eroded into the Sacramento 
River. In the Spring of 1973, Keith Johnson and the CSU Chico field 
class excavated portions of the site. In 1986, the site was determined 
to be adversely affected by a planned U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
Riverbank Stabilization Project. Consequently, in 1987, the Army Corps 
of Engineers contracted CSU Chico archeologists to further excavate the 
site to determine its eligibility for the National Register of Historic 
Places. The 1987 excavations included removal of three burials. The 844 
associated funerary objects are eight organics, 391 lots consisting of 
debitage, 25 modified stones, 12 projectile points, 34 fragments of 
shell, 63 samples of soil, five samples of charcoal, 293 faunal 
elements, three modified faunal elements, and 10 pieces of clay.

Accession 123

    Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were 
removed from Site CA-BUT-563 in Butte County, CA. This site was 
excavated by CSU Chico-affiliated archeologists in the spring of 1977 
and the collection has been housed at CSU Chico since that time. The 
7,495 associated funerary objects are 15 organics, 5,086 lots 
consisting of debitage, 486 modified stone fragments, 16 projectile 
points, 308 fragments of shell, six fragments of modified shell, 21 
samples of ash, 343 samples of charcoal, four pieces of petrified wood, 
70 samples of soil, 1,133 faunal elements, two modified faunal 
elements, three pieces of clay, and two ochre fragments.

Accession 148

    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from Site CA-GLE-19 in Glenn County, CA. This site was first 
recorded in 1972 while part of the site was eroding into the Sacramento 
River. In March of 1979, CSU Chico-affiliated archeologists collected 
human remains and artifacts from that portion of the site exposed by 
erosion, and between March and September of 1979, they conducted a 
complete excavation. All excavated materials have been housed at CSU 
Chico since their removal from the site. The 826 associated funerary 
objects are 151 lots consisting of debitage, 26 modified stone 
fragments, 21 modified shell fragments, three samples of charcoal, five 
pieces of petrified wood, 63 faunal elements, and 557 ochre fragments.

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 327 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 41,461 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.

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 Tribe 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. 2023-13817 Filed 6-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P