[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 115 (Tuesday, June 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25630-25631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11148]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040409; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Defense, 
Defense Health Agency, National Museum of Health and Medicine, Silver 
Spring, MD

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 U.S. Department of Defense, Defense 
Health Agency, National Museum of Health and Medicine has completed an 
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after July 17, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains 
in this notice to Mr. Brian F. Spatola, Curator of Anatomical Division, 
National Museum of Health and Medicine, U.S. Army Garrison Forest Glen, 
2500 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 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 
National Museum of Health and Medicine, and additional information on 
the determinations in this notice, including the results of 
consultation, can be found in its inventory or related records. The 
National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this 
notice.

[[Page 25631]]

Abstract of Information Available

    Human remains representing, at least, five individuals have been 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. Four 
individuals were removed from Santa Barbara County, CA. The remains 
consist of a partial adult femur removed from an unknown location in 
Santa Barbara County, CA, during the U.S. Geological Survey West of the 
100th Meridian in 1875; an adult cranium removed from La Palera No. 1, 
eight miles from Santa Barbara, CA, on the ranch of Mr. Alexander Moore 
during the U.S. Geological Survey West of the 100th Meridian in 1875; 
and two adult crania removed from San Miguel Island, CA, and purchased 
from Ward's Natural Science Establishment in 1896. One individual was 
removed from an unknown location on the Channel Islands, CA. The 
remains consist of an adult cranium and mandible purchased from Ward's 
Natural Science Establishment on an unknown date.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this 
notice.

Determinations

    The National Museum of Health and Medicine has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of five individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a connection between the human remains described 
in this notice and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of 
the Santa Ynez Reservation, California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains described in this notice to a 
requestor may occur on or after July 17, 2025. If competing requests 
for repatriation are received, the National Museum of Health and 
Medicine must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to 
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are 
considered a single request and not competing requests. The National 
Museum of Health and Medicine 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.

    Dated: June 11, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-11148 Filed 6-16-25; 8:45 am]
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