[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 106572-106573]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31284]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039247; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of Oregon, Museum of 
Natural and Cultural History, Eugene, OR

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 Oregon Museum of Natural 
and Cultural History intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that 
meets the definition of an object of cultural patrimony and that has a 
cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or 
after January 29, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Pamela Endzweig, Director of Anthropological 
Collections, University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural 
History, 1224 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1224, telephone 
(541) 346-5120, 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 Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History 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

    One cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one 
object of cultural patrimony, catalog 2-967, is a coiled basket donated 
in 1937 by former University of Oregon student A. (Ada) Ossie Walton 
(1867-1944). A newspaper article, which appears to be from 1937, 
mentions that Walton began collecting while still a student. She 
graduated in 1885. A hand-written note in the Museum's accessions 
files, which we presume to be the donor's, lists the basket as ``Large 
basket (told one of tribes adjoining Navahoes)''. This is also what the 
partial old label on the base of the basket reads. We believe this to 
be an incorrect identification. Museum staff have described the coiled 
basket as ``Mission style'' and attributed it to Southern California 
Native peoples. There is no additional information in the Museum's 
files relating to the provenance of the basket.

Cultural Affiliation

    The cultural item in this notice is 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: expert opinion, including 
Native American traditional knowledge.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural 
History has determined that:
     The one object of cultural patrimony described in this 
notice has ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance 
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other 
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of 
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
     There is a reasonable connection between the cultural item 
described in this notice and the Pechanga Band of Indians (previously 
listed as Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pechanga 
Reservation, California).

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item 
in this

[[Page 106573]]

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 item in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after January 29, 2025. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the University of Oregon Museum of Natural 
and Cultural History 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 
University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History 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: December 19, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-31284 Filed 12-27-24; 8:45 am]
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