[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65663-65665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17879]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038466; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of California, 
Riverside, Riverside, 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 University of California, Riverside 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.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after September 9, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Megan Murphy, University of California, Riverside, 900 
University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92517-5900, telephone (951) 827-6349, 
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 
University of California, Riverside, and additional information on the 
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the inventory or related records. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

[[Page 65664]]

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, five individuals have been reasonably identified. The 21 
associated funerary objects are three lots of unmodified animal bone, 
one lot of modified animal bone, three lots of ceramic sherds, three 
lots of lithic materials, three lots of shell beads, one lot of 
grinding stones, two lots of charcoal, two lots of other organic 
materials, one lot of floral materials, and two lots of unmodified 
shells.
    In 1976 the cremated remains of at least two Native American 
individuals were removed from archaeological site CA-RIV-1171 by 
members of the University of California, Riverside Archaeological 
Research Unit (UCR-ARU). The site was in the Indian Wells area near La 
Quinta in Riverside County, California. The archaeologists were 
contacted by the property owner of the Indian Wells Mobile Home Estates 
to assess the 40-acre area for potential impact to archaeological 
resources during a proposed development of the dune area on the 
southwest portion of the property. During an initial examination of the 
dunes the archaeologists noted the presence of at least two human 
cremations on the surface as well as scatters of other objects like 
pottery sherds, lithic flakes, fish bone, and mussel shells. The 
archaeologists inferred that the site was occupied around the last 
stand of Ancient Lake Cahuilla around 500 years ago based on the 
presence of the fish bone and associated pottery types. The collection 
from the project was housed at UCR under accession number 54. Although 
the archaeologists noted the presence of human cremations in the dunes, 
human remains were not identified in the collection until decades later 
during consultation with a Cahuilla band and an osteologist. The tribal 
representatives also identified approximately 1,400 associated funerary 
objects including unmodified and modified animal bone, ceramic sherds, 
lithic flakes, shell beads, charcoal, other organic materials, and 
unmodified shells. The osteologist identified human remains 
representing at least one adult and one juvenile individual; no known 
individuals were identified.
    In 1989 the University of California, Riverside Archaeological 
Research Unit (UCR-ARU) was hired by J.F. Davidson and Associates to 
conduct a pedestrian survey of 375 acres of property in the central 
Coachella Valley near Indio, Riverside county, California. During the 
surface survey a human cranial fragment was noted by archaeologists in 
addition to potsherds and other cultural materials. Five archaeological 
sites were documented during the project, but only the site where the 
human remains were noted, CA-RIV-3793, was recommended for further 
mitigation. In 1990 the UCR-ARU was then contracted again to conduct 
test excavations. During the excavations several human bone fragments 
were removed from the site, but were misidentified as animal bone. The 
collections were housed at UCR under accession number 154. In 2024 
during a NAGPRA consultation, the remains were identified as one human 
infant tibia and one human juvenile canine tooth. Tribal 
representatives also identified associated funerary objects including 
ceramics, lithics, shell beads, animal bone, floral and other organic 
materials, and unmodified shell.
    In 1993 human remains representing at least one Native American 
individual were removed from archaeological site CA-RIV-150 in 
Riverside County. The remains were uncovered during the grading of an 
area within Washington Square in La Quinta ahead of planned 
development. CA-RIV-150 is a well-known archaeological site, which was 
first recorded in 1933 by archaeologists. It is also well known to 
Cahuilla bands as a large village complex occupied by their ancestors. 
Charcoal samples from the project were sent to Beta Analytics for 
radiocarbon dating, which indicated an approximate date of A.D. 1430 to 
A.D. 1530. During the project, bone fragments were removed from Feature 
3 of the site and were examined later at the LSA Associates Inc. 
laboratory where they were identified as human. Arrangements for 
reburial were made with one of the monitoring tribes and the remains 
and some associated funerary objects were returned in 1993. The 
remainder of the collection was subsequently curated at the University 
of California, Riverside under accession numbers 40 and 216. In 2024, 
during a NAGPRA consultation, an osteologist identified additional 
human remains that were misidentified as faunal in 1993. Tribal 
representatives also identified associated funerary objects in the 
collection.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in 
this notice.

Determinations

    The University of California, Riverside has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of five individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 21 objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Agua 
Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian 
Reservation, California; Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians, 
California; Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians (previously listed as 
Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, California); Cahuilla Band of Indians; 
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, California; Morongo 
Band of Mission Indians, California; Ramona Band of Cahuilla, 
California; Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, California; and the 
Torrez Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
authorized representative identified in this notice under 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 9, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the University of 
California, Riverside 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 University of California, Riverside is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and 
Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.


[[Page 65665]]


    Dated: August 1, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-17879 Filed 8-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P