[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13741-13742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03652]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037433; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: California State Department of 
Transportation, Sacramento, 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 Department of 
Transportation (Caltrans) has 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 in this notice. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from Sacramento County, CA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Lisa Bright, Branch Chief District 3, Cultural Resources 
(South), California State Department of Transportation, 703 B Street 
Marysville, CA 95901, telephone (530) 812-4569, 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 
Caltrans. 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 California 
State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) and Caltrans.

Description

    In the spring of 1957 (approximately February/March) human remains 
representing, at minimum, six individuals were removed from CA-SAC-96 
(Accession Number 81-299; also known as Allen/Allyn Mound). The 1957 
excavations were carried out by Sacramento State College (now 
Sacramento State) under the direction of Norman Wilson on behalf of the 
California Division of Highways (now Caltrans). No excavation reports 
were written, and the collection remained uncatalogued until October 
2023.
    Occupation of the site is estimated to have occurred during the 
Late Phase 2, post 500 years before present based on bead and pendent 
size and shape although occupation could extend back as far as 1,000 
years before present. The associated funerary objects removed from this 
site (83 catalog entries) include baked clay objects; modified bones, 
stones, and shells; historic materials; flaked and ground stones; 
faunal remains; burnt basketry; and beads. The human remains were not 
individually catalogued, and those that had been previously boxed 
separately were treated as lots. Bags of faunal remains were also 
treated as lots to minimize handling. An additional 18 objects are 
currently missing from the collection and Caltrans and Sacramento State 
continues to look for them. This count is based on handwritten index 
cards that were identified as associated with this collection. These 18 
objects were not identified during the cataloging process.

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, geographical, historical, 
oral traditional, and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, Caltrans has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 83 catalog entries 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 Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-
Wuk Indians of California; Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of 
California; Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California; Jackson Band of 
Miwuk Indians; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs 
Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; United Auburn Indian Community of 
the Auburn Rancheria of California; and the Wilton 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 March 25, 2024. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, California State 
University, Sacramento 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. Caltrans is responsible for sending a copy 
of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.
    This notice was submitted after the effective date of the revised 
regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12, 
2024) but in the older format. As the notice conforms to the mandatory 
format of the Federal Register and includes the required information, 
the National Park Service is publishing this notice as submitted.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.


[[Page 13742]]


    Dated: February 14, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-03652 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
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