Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 35910 [2023-11691]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 35910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11691]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035956; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of 
California, Davis, Davis, 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 University of California, Davis (UC 
Davis) 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. The cultural items were removed from Placer and Sutter 
Counties, CA.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after July 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Megon Noble, NAGPRA Project Manager, University of 
California, Davis, 412 Mrak Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, 
telephone (530) 752-8501, 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 UC 
Davis. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice. Additional information on the 
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the summary or related records held by UC Davis.

Description

    The nine cultural items were removed from the Sugarpine area in 
Placer County, CA (UC Davis Accession 87 and UCDA) and Bear River and 
Robbins areas in Sutter County, CA (UCDA).
    Between 1966 and 1976, cultural items were removed by UC Davis 
Department of Anthropology from various sites in the Sugarpine 
Reservoir area as a part of the Sugarpine Reservoir Archaeological 
Survey Project, which was conducted for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation). Only in 2021 and 2022 did Reclamation determine that 
these items are not under their control. The object of cultural 
patrimony consists of one lot (approximately 178 items) of clay, stone, 
and historic objects.
    At an unknown date, one cultural item was removed from the Sugar 
Pine area in Placer County, CA (UCDA). The circumstances surrounding 
the collection of the items are unknown. The one object of cultural 
patrimony is a metate.
    At an unknown date, six cultural items were removed from the Bear 
River area in Sutter County, CA (UCDA). The circumstances surrounding 
the collection of the items are unknown. The six objects of cultural 
patrimony are one quartzite biface, one scraper, one hammerstone, two 
bifaces, and one whetstone.
    In 1999, one cultural item was removed from the Robbins area in 
Sutter County, CA (UCDA) by UC Davis Department of Anthropology 
Professor Robert Bettinger and placed in the Department of Anthropology 
Teaching Collections. The one object of cultural patrimony is a 
hammerstone.

Cultural Affiliation

    The cultural items 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, 
archeological, folkloric, geographical, historical, kinship, 
linguistic, oral traditional, and other relevant information or expert 
opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, UC Davis has determined that:
     The nine cultural items described above have ongoing 
historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native 
American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an 
individual.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the United Auburn 
Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 
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 July 3, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, UC Davis 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. UC Davis is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.8, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: May 24, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-11691 Filed 5-31-23; 8:45 am]
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