14050 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 50 / Tuesday, March 15, 2011 / Notices 

archeological and historical evidence for 

occupation of the site after the epidemic 

provides circumstantial support that the 

site was abandoned at this time. The 

surviving occupants of the site may 

have joined with neighboring groups to 

the south (in the vicinity of 

Sacramento), to the north (Verona), and 

to the east (in the foothills). 

Archeological evidence indicates that 

the lower Sacramento Valley and Delta 

regions were continuously occupied 

since at least the Early Horizon (5550– 

550 B.C.). Cultural changes indicated by 

artifact typologies and burial patterns, 

historical linguistic evidence, and 

biological evidence reveal that the 

populations in the region were not 

static, with both in situ cultural changes 

and migrations of outside populations 

into the area. Linguistic evidence 

suggests that ancestral-Penutian 

speaking groups related to modern day 

Miwok, Nisenan, and Patwin groups 

occupied the region during the Middle 

(550 B.C.–A.D. 1100) and Late (A.D. 

1100—Historic) Horizons, with some 

admixing between these groups and 

Hokan-speaking groups that occupied 

the region at an earlier date. The genetic 

data suggests that the Penutians may 

have arrived later than suggested by the 

linguistic evidence. 

Geographical data from ethnohistoric 

and ethnographic sources indicate that 

the site was most likely occupied by 

Nisenan-speaking groups at the 

beginning of the Historic Period, while 

Patwin-speakers occupied the valley 

west of the Sacramento River and 

Miwok-speakers resided south of the 

American River. Ethnographic data and 

expert testimony from tribal 

representatives support the high level of 

interaction between groups in the lower 

Sacramento Valley and Delta regions 

that crosscut linguistic boundaries. 

Historic population movements resulted 

in an increased level of shifting among 

populations, especially among the 

Miwok and Nisenan, who were 

impacted by disease and Euro-American 

activities relating to Sutter’s Fort and 

later gold-rush activities. 

In summary, officials of California 

State University, Sacramento, together 

with the University’s College of Social 

Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies 

Committee on Native American Graves 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

Compliance (SSIS NAGPRA 

Committee), reasonably believe that the 

ethnographic, historical, and 

geographical evidence indicates that the 

historic burials and cultural items 

recovered from Site CA–SAC–16 are 

most closely affiliated with 

contemporary descendants of the 

Nisenan, and have more distant ties to 

neighboring groups, such as the Plains 

Miwok. Furthermore, the earlier cultural 

items from the Middle and Late 

Horizons share cultural relations with 

the Nisenan and Plains Miwok based on 

archeological, biological, and historical 

linguistic evidence. 

Officials of California State 

University, Sacramento, have 

determined, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 

3001(3)(B), that the 527 cultural items 

described above are reasonably believed 

to have been placed with or near 

individual human remains at the time of 

death or later as part of the death rite 

or ceremony and are believed, by a 

preponderance of the evidence, to have 

been removed from a specific burial site 

of Native American individuals. 

Officials of California State University, 

Sacramento, have determined, pursuant 

to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), that there is a 

relationship of shared group identity 

that can be reasonably traced between 

the unassociated funerary objects and 

the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk 

Indians of California; Ione Band of 

Miwok Indians of California; Shingle 

Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle 

Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), 

California; United Auburn Indian 

Community of the Auburn Rancheria of 

California; and Wilton Rancheria, 

California, as well as the non-Federally 

recognized Indian groups of the El 

Dorado Miwok Tribe and Nashville-El 

Dorado Miwok. 

Representatives of any other Indian 

tribe that believes itself to be culturally 

affiliated with the unassociated funerary 

objects should contact Charles Gossett, 

Dean of the College of Social Sciences 

and Interdisciplinary Studies, CSUS, 

6000 J St., Sacramento, CA 95819–6109, 

telephone: (916) 278–6504, before April 

14, 2011. Repatriation of the 

unassociated funerary objects to the 

Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk 

Indians of California; Ione Band of 

Miwok Indians of California; Shingle 

Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle 

Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), 

California; United Auburn Indian 

Community of the Auburn Rancheria of 

California; and Wilton Rancheria, 

California, may proceed after that date 

if no additional claimants come 

forward. 

California State University, 

Sacramento, is responsible for notifying 

the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk 

Indians of California; Cortina Indian 

Rancheria of Wintun Indians of 

California; Ione Band of Miwok Indians 

of California; Shingle Springs Band of 

Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs 

Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; 

United Auburn Indian Community of 

the Auburn Rancheria of California; 

Wilton Rancheria, California; and Yocha 

Dehe Wintun Nation, California, as well 

as the non-Federally recognized Indian 

groups of the El Dorado Miwok Tribe 

and Nashville-El Dorado Miwok that 

this notice has been published. 

Dated: March 9, 2011. 

Sherry Hutt, 

Manager, National NAGPRA Program. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5855 Filed 3–14–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[2253–65] 

Notice of Intent To Repatriate a 

Cultural Item: U.S. Department of the 

Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Washington, DC and Arizona State 

Museum, University of Arizona, 

Tucson, AZ 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Notice is here given in accordance 

with the Native American Graves 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent 

to repatriate a cultural item in the 

control of the U.S. Department of the 

Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Washington, DC, and in the physical 

custody of the Arizona State Museum, 

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, that 

meets the definition of sacred object and 

object of cultural patrimony under 25 

U.S.C. 3001. 

This notice is published as part of the 

National Park Service’s administrative 

responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 

U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The determinations in 

this notice are the sole responsibility of 

the museum, institution, or Federal 

agency that has control of the cultural 

item. The National Park Service is not 

responsible for the determinations in 

this notice. 

The cultural item is a medicine 

bundle, consisting of a sack made from 

the hide of a small mammal, which 

contains a necklace composed of large 

animal claws and shells, one separate 

large animal claw, two crystals wrapped 

in fiber, two shell pendants and one 

bead on a string, one projectile point, 

one stone disk, one shell disk, one hide 

bundle containing a reddish-orange 

mineral, two tied bundles with 

undetermined contents, and two empty 

hide bundles. In 1931, the item was 

recovered at Broken Flute Cave, AZ 

E:8:1(ASM), located on the Navajo 

Indian Reservation, in Apache County, 

AZ, during excavations conducted by 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 50 / Tuesday, March 15, 2011 / Notices 14051 

the Carnegie Institution of Washington 

under the direction of Earl Morris. The 

item was transferred from the Carnegie 

Institution to the Arizona State Museum 

in 1957. 

Consultations with representatives of 

the Navajo Nation have identified the 

object as a Navajo jish (Medicine 

Bundle) used in the Ho ́ cho ́’ı ́jı ́ (Evil Way 

Ceremony). The identification is 

supported by detailed information 

provided by traditional Navajo religious 

practitioners regarding the use and 

origin of the object and its contents. 

The Navajo people believe that jish 

are alive and must be treated with 

respect. The primary purpose of the jish 

is to cure people of diseases, mental and 

physical illness, and to restore beauty 

and harmony. Accordingly, no single 

individual can truly own any jish. The 

right to control jish is outlined by 

Navajo traditional laws, which vest this 

responsibility in Hataa5ii (Medicine 

persons). Hataa5ii are not owners of jish, 

but only care, utilize, and bequeath 

them for the Navajo people. The jish 

was discovered in the fill of a pithouse 

at the archeological site of Broken Flute 

Cave, but may have been intrusive from 

a later time period. According to 

information provided by traditional 

religious practitioners, jish have 

occasionally been placed in previously 

existing archeological contexts for 

safekeeping. 

Officials of the U.S. Department of the 

Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, have 

determined, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 

3001(3)(C), that the cultural item 

described above is a specific ceremonial 

object needed by traditional Native 

American religious leaders for the 

practice of traditional Native American 

religions by their present-day adherents. 

Officials of the U.S. Department of the 

Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, also 

have determined, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 

3001(3)(D), that the cultural item 

described above has ongoing historical, 

traditional, or cultural importance 

central to the Native American group or 

culture itself, rather than property 

owned by an individual. Lastly, officials 

of the U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, have 

determined, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 

3001(2), that there is a relationship of 

shared group identity that can be 

reasonably traced between the sacred 

object/object of cultural patrimony and 

the Navajo Nation of Arizona, New 

Mexico and Utah. 

Representatives of any other Indian 

tribe that believes itself to be culturally 

affiliated with the sacred object/object 

of cultural patrimony should contact 

Garry Cantley, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Western Regional Office, 2600 N. 

Central Ave., 12th floor, Phoenix, AZ 

85004, telephone (602) 379–6750, 

ext.1256, before April 14, 2011. 

Repatriation of the sacred object/object 

of cultural patrimony to the Navajo 

Nation of Arizona, New Mexico and 

Utah may proceed after that date if no 

additional claimants come forward. 

The U.S. Department of Interior, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, is responsible 

for notifying the Navajo Nation of 

Arizona, New Mexico and Utah that this 

notice has been published. 

Dated: March 9, 2011. 

Sherry Hutt, 

Manager, National NAGPRA Program. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5848 Filed 3–14–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[2253–665] 

Notice of Inventory Completion: San 

Francisco State University, San 

Francisco, CA 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Notice is here given in accordance 

with the Native American Graves 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the 

completion of an inventory of human 

remains in the control of San Francisco 

State University, San Francisco, CA. 

The human remains were removed from 

Kern County, CA. 

This notice is published as part of the 

National Park Service’s administrative 

responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 

U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The determinations in 

this notice are the sole responsibility of 

the museum, institution, or Federal 

agency that has control of the Native 

American human remains. The National 

Park Service is not responsible for the 

determinations in this notice. 

A detailed assessment of the human 

remains was made by San Francisco 

State University professional staff in 

consultation with representatives of the 

Santa Rosa Indian Community of the 

Santa Rosa Rancheria, California (Tachi 

Yokut Tribe), and the Tubatulabals of 

Kern Valley, a non-Federally recognized 

Indian group. 

On an unknown date, human remains 

representing a minimum of one 

individual were removed from an 

unknown site (Ca-Ker-UNK (Lake 

Isabella)), in Kern County, CA. No 

known individual was identified. No 

associated funerary objects are present. 

The human remains were found in a 

box labeled ‘‘No Site No., Bones, Lake 

Isabella, Box 1 of 1,’’ indicating removal 

from a Native American archeological 

site near Lake Isabella, which is located 

in Kern County, CA. In addition, the 

human remains were determined to be 

Native American because the 

mandibular dentition displayed 

significant attrition consistent with a 

prehistoric population. Native American 

origin was also indicated by the 

presence of red ochre on some of the 

skeletal elements. Based on 

ethnographic study and consultation 

with the Tubatulabals of Kern Valley, a 

non-Federally recognized Indian group, 

Lake Isabella is located in the 

historically documented territory of the 

Tubatulabal people. Based on 

consultation with the Tubatulabals of 

Kern Valley, a non-Federally recognized 

Indian group, and the Federallyrecognized Santa Rosa Indian 

Community of the Santa Rosa 

Rancheria, California (Tachi Yokut 

Tribe), the Tubatulabal people from the 

Lake Isabella area are intermarried with 

Yokuts in the Kern County area. 

Descendants of these Yokuts and 

Tubatulabals are members of the Santa 

Rosa Indian Community of the Santa 

Rosa Rancheria, California (Tachi Yokut 

Tribe) and/or the Tubatulabals of Kern 

Valley, a non-Federally recognized 

Indian group. 

Officials of San Francisco State 

University have determined, pursuant to 

25 U.S.C. 3001(9), that the human 

remains described above represent the 

physical remains of one individual of 

Native American ancestry. Officials of 

San Francisco State University also have 

determined, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 

3001(2), that there is a relationship of 

shared group identity that can be 

reasonably traced between the Native 

American human remains and the Santa 

Rosa Indian Community of the Santa 

Rosa Rancheria, California (Tachi Yokut 

Tribe), and the Tubatulabals of Kern 

Valley, a non-federally recognized 

Indian group. 

Representatives of any other Indian 

tribe that believes itself to be culturally 

affiliated with the human remains 

should contact Jeffrey Boland Fentress, 

NAGPRA Coordinator, San Francisco 

State University, Admin. 447, 1600 

Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 

95132, telephone (415) 338–3075, before 

April 14, 2011. Repatriation of the 

human remains to the Santa Rosa Indian 

Community of the Santa Rosa 

Rancheria, California (Tachi Yokut 

Tribe), may proceed after that date if no 

additional claimants come forward. 

San Francisco State University is 

responsible for notifying the Picayune 

Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of 

California; Santa Rosa Indian 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES