2018-22591. Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, CA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The California Department of Parks and Recreation has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES:

Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request with information in support of the request to the California Department of Parks and Recreation at the address in this notice by November 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Leslie Hartzell, Ph.D., NAGPRA Coordinator, Cultural Resources Division Chief, California State Parks, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects under the control of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, CA. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from an unknown site at Lake Britton, Shasta County, CA.

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the California Department of Parks and Recreation professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Alturas Indian Rancheria, California; Pit River Tribe, California (includes XL Ranch, Big Bend, Likely, Lookout, Montgomery Creek and Roaring Creek Rancherias); Round Valley Indian Tribes, Round Valley Reservation, California (previously listed as the Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation, California); and the Susanville Indian Rancheria, California. The Redding Rancheria, California was invited to consult, but did not participate.

History and Description of the Remains

In 1963, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were removed from an unknown site at Lake Britton in Shasta County, CA. The human remains were collected by McArthur-Burney State Park staff after they were reported eroding out of the shoreline approximately six miles from the park. No known individuals were identified. The five associated funerary objects are one obsidian scraper, one olivella bead, two bone tool fragments, and one unmodified mammal bone.

The age of the human remains is unknown. They were determined to be Native American based on the associated funerary objects and geographic context. Archeological evidence from the Lake Britton area shows at least 7,500 years of occupation. The associated funerary objects are consistent with the period when the area would have been occupied by the historic or ancestral Achumawi (Pit River). Geographic affiliation is consistent with the historically documented boundary areas between the Madesiwi, Ilmawi, and Itsatawi bands. Through consultation, shared group identity has been traced between the human remains, associated funerary objects, and the Alturas Indian Rancheria, California; Pit River Tribe, California (includes XL Ranch, Big Bend, Likely, Lookout, Montgomery Creek and Roaring Creek Rancherias); Redding Rancheria, California; Round Valley Indian Tribes, Round Valley Reservation, California (previously listed as the Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation, California); and the Susanville Indian Rancheria, California, hereafter referred to as “The Tribes.”

Determinations Made by the California Department of Parks and Recreation

Officials of the California Department of Parks and Recreation have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the five objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects and The Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request with information in support of the request to Leslie Hartzell, Ph.D., NAGPRA Coordinator, Cultural Resources Division Chief, California State Parks, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, telephone [phone], email [e-mail], by November 16, 2018. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.

Dated: September 19, 2018.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.