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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 100523-100524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29254]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039178; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Intended Repatriation: Western Washington University, 
Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, WA

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 Western Washington University, 
Department of Anthropology (WWU), intends to repatriate certain 
cultural items that meet the definition of 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 January 13, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Judith Pine, Western Washington University, Department 
of Anthropology, Arntzen Hall 340, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 
98225, telephone (360) 650-4783, email [email protected].

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 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 two cultural items have been requested for repatriation. 
The two objects of cultural patrimony are a shell bead and a red ochre 
sample.
    In the summers of 1999 and 2000, Drs. Campbell and Koetje of 
Western Washington University led field schools as part of a multi-year 
``Whidbey Island Prehistory Project''. 45-SK-46, the Lighthouse Point 
Midden, and 45-SK-144 were two of the sites investigated during this 
project. The field school participants excavated six 1 x 1m units and 
fifteen shovel tests at 45-SK-46 during the 2000 field season. This 
site was chosen for investigation because it was a small, shallow shell 
midden, subject to trail and bank erosion, and they were focusing on 
smaller sites most in need of documentation (WWU Field School Permit 
Application, 2000).
    45-SK-144 is located to the north of 45-SK-46, on the east side of 
the tombolo that connects Lighthouse Point to the mainland, separating 
Lottie and Bowman Bays. Seven 1 x 1m units were excavated at this site 
during the 1999 field season (Anderson, 2001 ``Sediment Analysis of Two 
Archaeological Sites in the Deception Pass Area, Fidalgo Island, 
Washington: A Geoarchaeological Approach'').
    No hazardous chemicals are known to have been used to treat the 
items while in the custody of WWU.

Determinations

    The WWU has determined that:
     The two 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.
     There is a reasonable connection between the cultural 
items described in this notice and the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi 
Reservation; Samish Indian Nation; and the Swinomish Indian Tribal 
Community.

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 January 13, 2025. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the WWU 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 WWU is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribes and Native

[[Page 100524]]

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: December 4, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-29254 Filed 12-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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