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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19696-19697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7889]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]

Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: 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, in 
consultation with the appropriate tribes, has determined that the 
cultural items meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and 
repatriation to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no 
additional claimants come forward. Representatives of any Indian tribe 
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the cultural item 
may contact the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the cultural item should contact the 
California Department of Parks and Recreation at the address below by 
May 2, 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. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the California Department of Parks and Recreation that meet 
the definition of unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001. 
The unassociated funerary objects were removed from ten sites located 
in northeastern San Diego 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 cultural item. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Item

    The unassociated funerary objects were removed from ten sites 
located in northeastern San Diego County, CA. The geographical location 
of the ten sites indicates the unassociated funerary objects were 
recovered within the historically documented territory of the Cahuilla. 
The traditional aboriginal territory of the Cahuilla, as defined by 
anthropologist Lowell John Bean, encompasses a geographically diverse 
area of mountains, valleys and low desert zones. The southernmost 
boundary approximately followed a line from just below Borrego Springs 
to the north end of the Salton Basin and the Chocolate Mountains. The 
eastern boundary ran along the summit of the San Bernardino Mountains. 
The northern boundary stood within the San Jacinto Plain near 
Riverside, while the base of Palomar Mountain formed the western 
boundary. According to Bean and archeologist William D. Strong, the 
northern end of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park lies within the 
traditional territory of the Cahuilla and includes Borrego Palm Canyon, 
Coyote Canyon, Clark Valley, the Santa Rosa Mountains, Jackass Flat, 
Rockhouse Canyon, and Horse Canyon.
    In 1955, Ben McCown collected a ceramic pipe bowl fragment from 
site CA-SDI-1465 (Hidden Springs) in the Borrego Palm Canyon and 
Jackass Flat areas of Anza Borrego Desert State Park, a large village 
site that had been occupied for a considerable period of time prior to 
and during the historic period and known to contain cremated human 
remains. The pipe bowl fragment is an unassociated funerary object 
based on the proximity of human cremation burials in the area, the 
ceremonial/personal nature of the object, and the burned exterior which 
is consistent with exposure to heat during cremation.
    In 1955, park visitor Gary Masters collected a ceramic pipe from 
site VC-1 in the Borrego Palm Canyon area of Anza Borrego Desert State 
Park, an area known to contain large village sites with cremation 
burials. The pipe is an unassociated funerary object based on the 
proximity of human cremation burials in the area and the ceremonial/
personal nature of the object. Although the object does not appear to 
be heavily burned, it is more likely than not to have come from a 
funerary context.
    At an unknown date, Paul Jorgenson collected a small pinch bowl 
from site CA-SDI-224 (Middle Willows) in the Borrego Palm Canyon area 
of Anza Borrego Desert State Park, an area known to contain large 
village sites with cremation burials. The bowl is an unassociated 
funerary object based on the proximity of human cremation burials in 
the area and the ceremonial/personal nature of the object. Although the 
object does not appear to be heavily burned, it is more likely than not 
to have come from a funerary context.
    Sometime in the 1970s, San Diego State University students and 
Professor Paul Ezell collected three pipe fragments, 75 burnt Olivella 
shell beads and a burnt glass bead from site CA-SDI-343 (Lower Willows) 
in the Borrego Palm Canyon area of Anza Borrego Desert State Park, a 
large village complex at Santa Caterina Spring known to contain 
cremation burials. The objects are unassociated funerary objects based 
on the proximity of human cremation burials in the area, the 
ceremonial/personal nature of the objects, and the burned exterior 
which is consistent with exposure to heat during cremation.
    Sometime in the 1970s, archeologist William Seidel collected one 
small burnt clay ball from site CA-SDI-2328 (Lower Willows) in the 
Borrego Palm Canyon area of Anza Borrego Desert State Park, a large 
village complex at Santa Caterina Spring known to contain cremation 
burials. The object is an unassociated funerary based on the proximity 
of human cremation burials in the area, ceremonial/personal nature of 
the object, and the burned exterior which is consistent with exposure 
to heat during cremation.
    Sometime in the 1970s, archeologist William Seidel collected one 
pipe bowl fragment from site CA-SDI-2336 in the Collins Valley area of 
Anza Borrego Desert State Park, a site known to have cremations and 
burials. The object is an unassociated funerary object based on the 
proximity of human cremation burials in the area, ceremonial/personal 
nature of the object, and the burned

[[Page 19697]]

exterior which is consistent with exposure to heat during cremation.
    Sometime in the 1970s, archeologist William Seidel collected one 
pipe bowl fragment from site CA-SDI-2663 in the Borrego Sink area of 
Borrego Springs, CA, an area known to be a gathering place for 
ceremonial and social occasions and known to contain numerous cremation 
burials. The object is an unassociated funerary object based on the 
proximity of human cremation burials in the area, the ceremonial/
personal nature of the object, and the burned exterior which is 
consistent with exposure to heat during cremation.
    In 1969, an anonymous park visitor collected a quartz crystal, a 
Haliotis shell pendant fragment, and two burnt Olivella shell beads 
from an unidentified site above Lower Willows (most likely site CA-SDI-
331 or site CA-SDI-343), in the Borrego Palm Canyon area of Anza 
Borrego Desert State Park, an area of known to contain large village 
sites with cremation burials. The objects are unassociated funerary 
objects based on the proximity of human cremation burials in the area, 
the ceremonial/personal nature of the objects, and the burned exterior 
which is consistent with exposure to heat during cremation.
    In 1967, an anonymous park visitor collected a pipe bowl fragment 
from an unidentified site in the Coyote Canyon area of Anza Borrego 
Desert State Park, an area known to contain large village sites with 
cremation burials. The pipe fragment is an unassociated funerary object 
based on the proximity of human cremation burials in the area and the 
ceremonial/personal nature of the object. Although the object does not 
appear to be heavily burned, it is more likely than not to have come 
from a funerary context.
    Sometime in the 1970s, archaeologist William Seidel collected a 
pipe fragment from an unidentified site located south of the elementary 
school in Borrego Springs, CA, an area known to contain a number of 
cremation burials and a gathering place for Cahuilla people for 
ceremonial and social occasions. The pipe is an unassociated funerary 
object based on the proximity of human cremation burials in the area 
and the ceremonial/personal nature of the object. Although the object 
does not appear to be heavily burned, it is more likely than not to 
have come from a funerary context.

Determinations Made by the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation

    Officials of the California Department of Parks and Recreation have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 91 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 is believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native 
American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla 
Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, California; Augustine 
Band of Cahuilla Indians, California (formerly the Augustine Band of 
Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Augustine Reservation); Cabazon Band of 
Mission Indians, California; Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians of the 
Cahuilla Reservation, California; Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and 
Cupeno Indians, California (formerly the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla & 
Cupeno Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation); Morongo Band of Mission 
Indians, California (formerly the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission 
Indians of the Morongo Reservation); Ramona Band of Cahuilla, 
California (formerly the Ramona Band or Village of Cahuilla Mission 
Indians of California); Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, California 
(formerly the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Santa 
Rosa Reservation); and Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, 
California (formerly the Torres-Martinez Band of Cahuilla Mission 
Indians of California) (hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary object should 
contact Rebecca Carruthers, NAGPRA Coordinator, California Department 
of Parks and Recreation, 1416 9th Street, Room 902, Sacramento CA 
95814, telephone (916) 653-8893, before May 2, 2012. Repatriation of 
the unassociated 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 28, 2012.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-7889 Filed 3-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P
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