[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 153 (Thursday, August 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54349-54350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17131]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036325; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Parks 
and Recreation, Sacramento, CA, and 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 Department of Parks and 
Recreation and California State University, Chico have completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and have 
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 September 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Leslie Hartzell, Cultural Resources Division at California 
State Parks 715 P Street, Suite 13, Sacramento, CA 95814, telephone 
(415) 831-2700, email [email protected] and 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 the 
California Department of Parks and Recreation and California State 
University, 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 the California 
Department of Parks and Recreation and California State University, 
Chico.

Description

CA-BUT-3820/H

    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from Butte County, CA. In the spring of 1976, Bidwell Adobe 
(CA-BUT-3820/H) was excavated by M. Kowta and other archeologists 
affiliated with California State University, Chico. This site is part 
of the Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park and under the legal control 
of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The human 
remains, funerary objects, and other items from this excavation are in 
the custody of California State University, Chico. The 3,822 associated 
funerary objects are 285 organics, 81 lots consisting of debitage, 15 
modified stone fragments, two lots of projectile points, two shell 
fragments, 1,281 samples of charcoal, one sample of soil, 2,055 faunal 
elements, 72 modified faunal elements, 20 pieces of clay, three 
modified fragments of clay, one lot of basalt flakes, one lot of cobble 
core-tools, one lot of flakes, one lot of beads, and one lot of 
pestles.
    In 1987, Bidwell Adobe (CA-BUT-3820/H) was excavated by Keith 
Johnson and other archeologists affiliated with California State 
University, Chico under agreement with the California Department of 
Parks and

[[Page 54350]]

Recreation. This site is part of the Bidwell Mansion State Historic 
Park and under the legal control of California Department of Parks and 
Recreation. The funerary objects and other items from this excavation 
are in the custody of the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation. The five associated funerary objects are one lot of basalt 
flakes, one lot of flake scrapers, one lot of glass beads, one lot of 
hammerstone, and one lot of projectiles. There were no human remains 
recorded.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Butte County, CA. In 1990, Bidwell Adobe (CA-BUT-3820/H) was 
excavated by Keith Johnson and other archeologists affiliated with 
California State University, Chico under agreement with the California 
Department of Parks and Recreation. This site is part of the Bidwell 
Mansion State Historic Park and under the legal control of the 
California Department of Parks and Recreation. The funerary objects and 
other items from this excavation are in the custody of the California 
Department of Parks and Recreation. The three associated funerary 
objects are one lot of basalt flakes, one lot of obsidian flakes, and 
one lot of projectile points.

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, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and 
California State University, Chico have determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 3,830 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 September 11, 2023. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the California 
Department of Parks and Recreation and California State University, 
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. The California Department of Parks and Recreation 
and California State University, 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: August 2, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-17131 Filed 8-9-23; 8:45 am]
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