[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89035-89036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26076]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038994; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: San Francisco State University, 
NAGPRA Program, San Francisco, CA

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 San Francisco State University (SF 
State) NAGPRA Program intends to repatriate certain cultural items that 
meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects or objects of 
cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after December 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Elise Green, San Francisco State University NAGPRA Program, 
1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, telephone (415) 338-
1381, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5d0d2c7d0d0dbf5c6d3c6c09bd0d1c0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6401031601010a24170217114a010011">[email protected]</span></a>.

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 SF 
State NAGPRA Program, and additional information on the determinations 
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in 
the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    A total of 471 lots of cultural items have been requested for 
repatriation. The 471 lots of unassociated funerary objects are 
lithics, obsidian, sediment samples, beads, faunal remains, pestles, 
chert, steatite, and tools. These cultural items are from 
archaeological sites: CA-FRE-Yosemite, CA-FRE-Shaver Lake, CA-FRE-
Huntington Lake Region, CA-Auberry-UNK, CA-Auberry-22, CA-Auberry-20, 
CA-Auberry-19, CA-Auberry-18, CA-Auberry-17, CA-Auberry-16, CA-Auberry-
15, CA-Auberry-14, CA-Auberry-12, CA-Auberry-10, CA-Auberry-9, CA-
Auberry-8, CA-Auberry-7, CA-Auberry-6, CA-Auberry-5, CA-Auberry-4, CA-
Auberry-3, CA-Auberry-2, CA-Auberry-1, CA-FRE-2264, CA-FRE-2263, CA-
FRE-492. The ``Auberry Burgess Collection'' was donated to SF State in 
October 1968 by Ray Burgess as a gift. The remainder of the 
archaeological sites are located near Shaver Lake in Fresno County.
    It was once common practice by museums to use chemicals on cultural 
items to prevent deterioration by mold, insects, and moisture. To date, 
the SF State NAGPRA Program has no records documenting use of chemicals 
at our facilities, and we currently do not use chemicals on any 
cultural items. A former SF State professor, Dr. Michael Moratto, 
stated that staff used glues, polyvinyl acetate, and a solution called 
Glyptol to mend and stabilize cultural objects in the past. Prior non-
invasive and non-destructive hazardous chemical tests conducted at the 
SF State NAGPRA Program repositories show arsenic, mercury, and/or lead 
in some storage containers, surfaces, and certain cultural items.

[[Page 89036]]

    A total of seven cultural items are requested for repatriation. The 
seven objects of cultural patrimony include three seed beater baskets, 
one burden basket, two cradle boards, and one round basket. These 
baskets were donated to the Treganza Anthropology Museum (TAM) at San 
Francisco State University in the 1960s and 1970s. When the TAM closed 
in 2012, all the Native American items were transferred to the SF State 
NAGPRA Program.
    It was once common practice by museums to use chemicals on cultural 
items to prevent deterioration by mold, insects, and moisture. To date, 
the SF State NAGPRA Program has no records documenting use of chemicals 
at our facilities, and we currently do not use chemicals on any 
cultural items. A former SF State professor, Dr. Michael Moratto, 
stated that staff used glues, polyvinyl acetate, and a solution called 
Glyptol to mend and stabilize cultural objects in the past. Prior non-
invasive and non-destructive hazardous chemical tests conducted at the 
SF State NAGPRA Program repositories show arsenic, mercury, and/or lead 
in some storage containers, surfaces, and certain cultural items.

Determinations

    The SF State NAGPRA Program has determined that:
    <bullet> The seven objects of cultural patrimony described in this 
notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance 
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other 
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of 
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
    <bullet> The 471 lots of unassociated funerary objects described in 
this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally 
with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of 
death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native 
American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge 
of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. 
The unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a 
preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific 
individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or 
burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation 
to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
    <bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the cultural 
items described in this notice and Big Sandy Rancheria of Western Mono 
Indians of California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the authorized 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 items in this notice to a requestor 
may occur on or after December 12, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the SF State NAGPRA Program must determine 
the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for 
joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single 
request and not competing requests. The SF State NAGPRA Program 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: October 29, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-26076 Filed 11-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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