74984 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 178 / Friday, September 13, 2024 / Notices 

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 item in 

this notice to a requestor may occur on 

or after October 15, 2024. If competing 

requests for repatriation are received, 

the University of California, Berkeley 

must determine the most appropriate 

requestor prior to repatriation. Requests 

for joint repatriation of the cultural item 

are considered a single request and not 

competing requests. The University of 

California, Berkeley 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: September 5, 2024. 

Melanie O’Brien, 

Manager, National NAGPRA Program. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20875 Filed 9–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0038695; 

PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000] 

Notice of Inventory Completion: 

Western Washington University, 

Department of Anthropology, 

Bellingham, WA 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native 

American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the 

Western Washington University (WWU) 

has completed an inventory of 

associated funerary objects and has 

determined that there is a cultural 

affiliation between the associated 

funerary objects and Indian Tribes or 

Native Hawaiian organizations in this 

notice. The associated funerary objects 

were removed from 45–WH–67 in 

Whatcom County, WA. 

DATES: Repatriation of the associated 

funerary objects in this notice may 

occur on or after October 15, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Dr. Judith Pine, Western 

Washington University, Department of 

Anthropology, Arntzen Hall 340, 516 

High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, 

telephone (360) 650–4783, email pinej@

wwu.edu. 

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 WWU, 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. 

Abstract of Information Available 

Three associated funerary objects 

have been newly identified during a 

recent repatriation and rehousing 

project. The three associated funerary 

objects consist of one wooden burial 

box, one lot of carbon 14 samples, and 

one antler wedge. These items were 

newly identified in consultation with 

Lummi Nation Cultural Specialist, R. 

Tom. No hazardous chemicals are 

known to have been used to treat the 

associated funerary objects while in the 

custody of WWU. 

Western Washington State College 

signed a contract with Arcomm 

Construction Company, Inc. of Seattle in 

April of 1975 to conduct ‘‘salvage’’ 

archaeology during the development of 

the Birch Bay sewage treatment facility. 

The project was led by Jeannette Gaston 

and Garland Grabert (WWU). Most of 

the work consisted of monitoring and 

salvage archaeology during construction 

activities throughout the summer of 

1975. A total of twenty-six test cuts 

were excavated within the pipeline 

right-of-way (Gaston and Grabert,1975). 

During this work, an intact cedar slab 

box burial was identified at site 45– 

WH–67. Analysis of the box burial was 

conducted, which included radiocarbon 

dating of a sample of the wood burial 

box (Lundy, 1977). The ancestral 

remains were previously repatriated to 

the Lummi Nation, however, the burial 

box, carbon 14 samples, and an antler 

wedge found with the box are present in 

the WWU collections. 

The associated funerary objects in this 

notice are connected to one or more 

identifiable earlier groups, tribes, 

peoples, or cultures. There is a 

relationship of shared group identity 

between the identifiable earlier groups, 

tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or 

more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 

organizations. The following types of 

information were used to reasonably 

trace the relationship: anthropological 

information, archaeological information, 

geographical information, historical 

information, and oral tradition. 

Cultural Affiliation 

Based on the information available 

and the results of consultation, cultural 

affiliation is clearly identified by the 

information available about the 

associated funerary objects described in 

this notice. 

Determinations 

The WWU has determined that: 

• The three objects described in this 

notice are reasonably believed to have 

been placed intentionally with or near 

individual human remains at the time of 

death or later as part of the death rite 

or ceremony. 

• There is a connection between the 

associated funerary objects described in 

this notice and the Lummi Tribe of the 

Lummi Reservation and the Nooksack 

Indian Tribe. 

Requests for Repatriation 

Written requests for repatriation of the 

associated funerary objects 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 

and associated funerary objects 

described in this notice to a requestor 

may occur on or after October 15, 2024. 

If competing requests for repatriation 

are received, the WWU must determine 

the most appropriate requestor prior to 

repatriation. Requests for joint 

repatriation of the human remains and 

associated funerary objects are 

considered a single request and not 

competing requests. The WWU 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: September 5, 2024. 

Melanie O’Brien, 

Manager, National NAGPRA Program. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20869 Filed 9–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 


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