[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43391-43393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14378]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036071; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: 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), California State University Chico (CSU 
Chico) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the 
definition of unassociated funerary objects and objects of cultural 
patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes 
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural items 
were removed from Butte, Glenn, and Tehama Counties, CA.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after August 7, 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 the results of consultation, 
can be found in the summary or related records held by CSU Chico.

Description

Accession 5

    The 216 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from Butte 
County, CA. The cultural items were accumulated by Clarence N. Jackson, 
who collected items in Alaska, Nebraska, the Ozarks, Butte County, 
California, and San Mateo County, California. These cultural items were 
donated to the Chico State Anthropology Department in October of 1960. 
The 216 objects of cultural patrimony are one lot consisting of 
debitage, one modified faunal element, 58 modified stones, and 156 
projectile points.

Accession 14

    The six unassociated funerary objects were removed from site CA-
BUT-167 in

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Butte County, CA. This site consists of a partially destroyed mound on 
private land that contains human remains. It was recorded by Dorothy 
Hill on October 25,1963. The cultural items were donated to the Chico 
State Anthropology Department on November 18, 1965. The six 
unassociated funerary objects are four modified stones and two lots 
consisting of debitage.

Accession 20

    The 19 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from site CA-BUT-
402 in Butte County, CA. This site was recorded on June 22, 1962, by 
Dorothy Hill, who was affiliated with the Chico State Anthropology 
Department. Hill collected items from the surface of the site and 
donated them to the Chico State Anthropology Department in 1965. The 19 
objects of cultural patrimony are two lots consisting of debitage, 10 
modified stones, two oversized stone tools, three projectile points, 
and two modified shells.

Accession 28

    The 13 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from a location 
near the town of Paradise, in Butte County, CA. The cultural items were 
collected by H.M. Doerchuck and donated to the Chico State Anthropology 
Department in 1967. The 13 objects of cultural patrimony are modified 
stones.

Accession 56

    The 60 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from Tehama 
County, CA. These items were collected on March 20, 1972, and March 27, 
1972, during a survey of Panther Springs by a Chico State Anthropology 
class led by Professor Makato Kowta. The 60 objects of cultural 
patrimony are 27 lots consisting of debitage, one unmodified faunal 
element, 27 modified stones, one oversized stone tool, and four 
projectile points.

Accession 66

    The 105 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from site CA-
GLE-018 in Glenn County, CA. This site was excavated by a Chico State 
Anthropology class led by Professor Keith Johnson in the summer of 
1973. The 105 objects of cultural patrimony are 30 beads, 25 lots 
consisting of debitage, 11 unmodified faunal elements, two modified 
faunal elements, 15 modified stones, 11 organics, and 11 unmodified 
shells.

Accession 89

    The 32 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from site CA-BUT-
116 in Butte County, CA. This site was recorded by Fritz A. Riddell on 
March 12, 1961. In 1975, cultural items were removed from the site by 
Richard Markley, who was affiliated with the Chico State Anthropology 
Department. The 32 objects of cultural patrimony are one charcoal 
sample, seven lots consisting of debitage, five modified stones, one 
organic, five projectile points, and 13 soil samples.

Accession 90

    The 16 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from site CA-BUT-
117 in Butte County, CA. This site was recorded by Fritz A. Riddell on 
March 12, 1961. In 1975, cultural items were removed from the site by 
Richard Markley. The 16 objects of cultural patrimony are three 
projectile points, five lots of debitage, one unmodified faunal 
element, and seven lots of soil.

Accession 91

    The 25 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from site CA-BUT-
118 in Butte County, CA. This site was recorded by Fritz A. Riddell on 
March 12, 1961. In 1975, cultural items were removed from the site by 
Richard Markley. The 25 objects of cultural patrimony are 18 lots 
consisting of debitage, four modified stones, two projectile points, 
and one lot of charcoal.

Accession 154

    The 17 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from sites, CA-
BUT-634, CA-BUT-636 and CA-BUT-639 in Butte County, CA. All three sites 
were found during the Woodworth Survey. CA-BUT-634 and CA-BUT-636 were 
recorded by Donald Storm and R. Meeks on May 1, 1978, and CA-BUT-639 
was recorded by Donald Storm, R. Meeks, and E. Royat on May 7, 1978. 
Donald Storm removed several cultural items from the three sites and 
donated them to the Chico State Anthropology Department on November 3, 
1978. The 17 objects of cultural patrimony are nine lots consisting of 
debitage and eight modified stones.

Accession 162

    The 428 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from site CA-
BUT-619 in Butte County, CA. This site was recorded by Eric W. Ritter 
on July 7, 1977. Ritter collected items from the surface of the site 
and donated the collection to the Chico State Anthropology Department 
in 1978 or 1979. The 428 objects of cultural patrimony are 413 lots 
consisting of debitage, one unmodified faunal element, 13 modified 
stones, and one oversized stone tool.

Accession 385

    The 13,032 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from the Big 
Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) in Butte County, CA. The BCCER 
is owned by Chico State. Between 2001 and 2010, Drs. Frank Bayham and 
Antoinette Martinez of the Chico State Anthropology Department led 
classes at several archeological sites within the BCCER. In 2005, as 
part of a cooperative agreement with the Mechoopda Tribe of Chico, Dr. 
Martinez conducted a test excavation at BCCER-02 with a class. The 
13,032 objects of cultural patrimony are 145 charcoal samples, 9,903 
lots consisting of debitage, 1,113 unmodified faunal elements, 1,112 
modified faunal elements, 505 modified stones, 167 organics, four 
fragments of petrified wood, 30 projectile points, 23 unmodified shell 
fragments, and 30 soil samples.

Accession 419

    The 99 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from the Big 
Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) in Butte County, CA. The BCCER 
is owned by Chico State. Between 2001 and 2010, Drs. Frank Bayham and 
Antoinette Martinez of the Chico State Anthropology Department led 
classes at several archeological sites within the BCCER. The 99 objects 
of cultural patrimony are 28 charcoal samples, 23 lots consisting of 
debitage, 17 unmodified faunal elements, 12 modified clay fragments, 
three modified stones, eight organics, two fragments of petrified wood, 
one projectile point, and five soil samples.

Accession 429

    The 147 objects of cultural patrimony were removed from Butte, 
Glenn, and Tehama Counties, CA. Accession 429 consists of cultural 
items accumulated by private collector Dale Ritter, who collected 
throughout northern California. In 2019, these cultural items were 
donated to the Chico State Anthropology Department by Dale's son, Eric 
Ritter. The 147 objects of cultural patrimony are 146 modified stones 
and one lot consisting of debitage.

Cultural Affiliation

    The cultural items 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. (We also note here that the Konkow 
Valley Band of Maidu, a non-federally recognized Indian group,

[[Page 43393]]

considers portions of Butte County to be their aboriginal territory.) 
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 six cultural items described above 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 and 
are believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed 
from a specific burial site of a Native American individual.
     The 14,209 cultural items described above have ongoing 
historical, traditional, or cultural importance central, to the Native 
American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an 
individual.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the Berry Creek 
Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California; Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu 
Indians of California; Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria, 
California; Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California; and the 
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians of California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 
ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by 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 cultural items in this notice to a requestor 
may occur on or after August 7, 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 cultural items 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 10.8, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: June 14, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-14378 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
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