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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 100526-100527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29256]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039180; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Investigative Services Branch, Boulder City, NV

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 U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Investigative Services Branch (ISB) has 
completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects 
and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the 
human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 13, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Brian Lake, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Investigative 
Services Branch, 1400 Colorado Street, Suite C, Boulder City, NV 89005, 
telephone (702) 293-8732, 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 
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, ISB, and additional information on 
the determinations in this notice, including the results of 
consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, one individual has been reasonably identified. The two 
associated funerary objects are one stone mortar base and one ground 
stone pestle. The human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed from Contra Costa County, CA during a federal highway project 
in the early 1960s. The remains and cultural items were collected and 
removed from the site by a contractor and remained in the contractor's 
possession until his death, when they were passed to his descendant. In 
2015 they were seized during a criminal investigation by the ISB. After 
seizure, the human remains were stored at Joshua Tree National Park 
until their transfer in March of 2022 to the curatorial facility at 
Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Cultural affiliation was determined 
based on anthropological, historical, geographic, and Native American 
traditional knowledge. These human remains and cultural items have not 
been treated with hazardous substances.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in 
this notice.

Determinations

    ISB has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The two 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 reasonable connection between the human remains 
and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Wilton 
Rancheria, California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
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 and, if joined to a request 
from one or more of the Indian Tribes, the North Valley Yokuts Tribe, a 
non-federally recognized Indian group.
    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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.

[[Page 100527]]

    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 13, 2025. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, ISB 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. ISB 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: December 4, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-29256 Filed 12-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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