[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15801-15802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6321]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Parks 
and Recreation, Sacramento, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The California Department of Parks and Recreation has 
completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian tribes. 
Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects may contact the California Department of Parks and Recreation. 
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to 
the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no additional claimants 
come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation at the address below by April 16, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Rebecca Carruthers, NAGPRA Coordinator, California 
Department of Parks and Recreation, 1416 9th Street, Room 902, 
Sacramento, CA 95814, telephone (916) 653-8893.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the California 
Department of Parks and Recreation. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were removed from the Morris Mound site (CA-SAC-199) 
in Sacramento 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 and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects was made by the California Department of Parks and Recreation 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of Buena Vista 
Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Chicken Ranch Rancheria of 
Me-Wuk Indians of California; Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California; 
Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Shingle Springs Band 
of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; 
Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians of the Tuolumne Rancheria of 
California; and the United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn 
Rancheria of California (hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1950, human remains representing, at minimum, nine individuals 
were removed from Morris Mound (site CA-SAC-199) in Sacramento County, 
CA. James Sturgeon of Fair Oaks, CA, excavated the site and donated the 
collection to the California Department of Parks and Recreation on 
February 15, 1977. No known individuals were identified. The 11 
associated funerary objects are 1 silicate flake scraper and 10 mammal 
bones.
    The site was occupied during the Late Horizon Period (after A.D. 
500). Archeologists believe that the Penutian-speaking Maidu and Miwok 
are descended from what have been identified as the Windmiller people 
who occupied the Central Valley of California 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. 
Geographic affiliation is consistent with the historically documented 
use of the area by the Nisenan (Southern Maidu) and the Plains Miwok. 
This collection is affiliated with the historic Nisenan or

[[Page 15802]]

the Northern Sierra Miwok, based on the movement of both groups near 
the borders of what is now identified as their historic territories. 
Therefore, the professional staff of the California Department of Parks 
and Recreation has determined that there is a relationship of shared 
group identity, which can be reasonably traced between these Native 
American human remains and The Tribes.

Determinations Made by the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation

    Officials of the California Department of Parks and Recreation have 
determined that:
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of nine individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 11 objects 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.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact Rebecca Carruthers, NAGPRA Coordinator, 
California Department of Parks and Recreation, 1416 9th Street, Room 
902, telephone (916) 653-8893, before April 16, 2012. Repatriation of 
the human remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes may 
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The California Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible 
for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 12, 2012.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-6321 Filed 3-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P