2024-22887. Notice of Inventory Completion: Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, WA

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Department of the Interior

National Park Service

1. [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038781; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology (WWU) 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 November 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Dr. Judith Pine, Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Arntzen Hall 340, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, ( print page 80919) telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

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 its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified. The eight associated funerary objects are stone, bone and antler tools and red ochre.

Between July 5 and August 6, 1982, the WWU Anthropology Department conducted an archaeological survey of the Lummi River flood plain and adjacent areas within the Lummi Indian Reservation, Whatcom County, WA. The survey was conducted at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and was restricted to tribal trust and allotment lands. The project was designed to provide a basic cultural resource inventory that would supplement previous archaeological investigations of other portions of the Lummi Reservation. During this survey, six previously unrecorded sites were located, and test excavations were conducted at one of these sites (Patterson 1983, An Archaeological Investigation of the Lummi River and Adjacent Portions of the Lummi Reservation, Whatcom County, Washington. Reports in Archaeology No.19, Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington).

During the WWU 2018-2020 Repatriation and Rehousing Project, ancestral remains and associated funerary objects were newly identified from three sites (45-WH-171, 45-WH-172, and 45-WH-176), and they are listed below. No known individuals were identified. No hazardous chemicals are known to have been used to treat the human remains while in the custody of WWU.

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

The WWU has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
• The eight 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 connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe.

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.

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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after November 4, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the WWU 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. The WWU 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: September 25, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.