[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 11, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24660-24661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10596]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040326; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: Museums of Lake County, 
Lakeport, 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 Museums of Lake County intends to 
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred 
objects or objects of cultural patrimony 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 July 11, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the 
cultural items in this notice to Carolynn Birilli, Curator, Museums of 
Lake County, 255 N Main Street, Lakeport, CA 95452, 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 
Museums of Lake County, 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 five cultural items have been requested for 
repatriation. The two sacred objects and three objects of cultural 
patrimony are: a collection of 138 Pomo shell beads, two twined 
baskets, a lava rock mortar section, and an obsidian arrowhead point.
    These items were acquired by the museum between 1983 and 2025 and 
originate from Lake County, California. Some were collected by Doris 
Hobson and Edward McPherson from the Middletown area. These objects 
have been identified through consultation with tribal representatives 
as items of cultural importance to the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo 
Indians. No hazardous substances were noted in the treatment of these 
objects.

Determinations

    The Museums of Lake County has determined that:
     The two sacred objects described in this notice are 
specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American 
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional 
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional 
knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
     The three objects of cultural patrimony described in this 
notice have 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 connection between the cultural items described 
in this notice and the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians of 
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 July 11, 2025. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received,

[[Page 24661]]

the Museums of Lake County 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 Museums of Lake County 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: May 28, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-10596 Filed 6-10-25; 8:45 am]
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