[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67661-67662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18672]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038522; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: San Francisco State University 
NAGPRA Program, San Francisco, 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 San Francisco State University (SF 
State) NAGPRA Program intends to repatriate certain cultural items that 
meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a 
cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after September 20, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Elise Green, San Francisco State University NAGPRA Program, 
1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, telephone (415) 338-
1381, 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 SF 
State NAGPRA Program, and additional information on the determinations 
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in 
the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    A total of 205 lots of cultural items have been requested for 
repatriation. The 205 lots of unassociated funerary objects are tools, 
pestle fragments, projectile points, pestles, worked chert, stones, 
chert fragments, mano, glass, hammerstone, obsidian, and a hopper 
mortar. These cultural items are from archaeological sites in Mendocino 
County: CA-MEN-Tickenoff Collection, CA-MEN-Etsel Franciscan Survey, 
CA-MEN-Poor Man's Valley, CA-MEN-775-776, CA-MEN-766, CA-MEN-765, CA-
MEN-764, CA-MEN-763, CA-

[[Page 67662]]

MEN-754, CA-MEN-753, CA-MEN-749, CA-MEN-743, CA-MEN-738, CA-MEN-736, 
CA-MEN-735, CA-MEN-721, CA-MEN-713, CA-MEN-703, CA-MEN-688, CA-MEN-682, 
CA-MEN-669, CA-MEN-668, CA-MEN-666, CA-MEN-665, CA-MEN-643, CA-MEN-622, 
CA-MEN-316, CA-MEN-315, CA-MEN-307, CA-MEN-306, CA-MEN-304, CA-MEN-297, 
CA-MEN-293, CA-MEN-285, CA-MEN-282, CA-MEN-279, CA-MEN-277, CA-MEN-272, 
CA-MEN-271, CA-MEN-267, CA-MEN-258, CA-MEN-245, CA-MEN-244, CA-MEN-242, 
CA-MEN-227, CA-MEN-226, CA-MEN-222, CA-MEN-216, CA-MEN-213, CA-MEN-209, 
and CA-MEN-208. Many of these sites were excavated as part of the 
Etsel-Franciscan Reservoir Project located in Williams Valley, CA. SF 
State previously repatriated ancestors to the Round Valley Indian 
Tribes in 2000 from this same project. These sites listed above have 
been determined to be geographically located near Round Valley, CA and 
associated with the Round Valley Indian Tribes.
    It was once common practice by museums to use chemicals on cultural 
items to prevent deterioration by mold, insects, and moisture. To date, 
the SF State NAGPRA Program has no records documenting use of chemicals 
at our facilities, and we currently do not use chemicals on any 
cultural items. A former SF State professor, Dr. Michael Moratto, 
stated that staff used glues, polyvinyl acetate, and a solution called 
Glyptol to mend and stabilize cultural objects in the past. Prior non-
invasive and non-destructive hazardous chemical tests conducted at the 
SF State NAGPRA Program repositories show arsenic, mercury, and/or lead 
in some storage containers, surfaces, and certain cultural items.

Determinations

    The SF State NAGPRA Program has determined that:
     The 205 lots of unassociated funerary objects described in 
this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally 
with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of 
death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native 
American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge 
of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. 
The unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a 
preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific 
individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or 
burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation 
to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
     There is a reasonable connection between the cultural 
items described in this notice and the Round Valley Indian Tribes, 
Round Valley Reservation, California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified 
in this notice under 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 September 20, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the SF State NAGPRA Program 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. The SF State NAGPRA Program is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and 
Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and to any 
other consulting parties.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

    Dated: August 7, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-18672 Filed 8-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P