2022-25576. Notice of Inventory Completion: University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, CA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of California, Berkeley 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 object and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary object were removed from Suffolk County, NY.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after December 23, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Alex Lucas, University of California, Berkeley; 50 University Hall, 2199 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94720, 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 University of California, Berkeley. 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 inventory or related records held by the University of California, Berkeley.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were removed from Suffolk County, NY. They were excavated at an unknown date by F. (Frank) M. Smith, head of the Pacific Coast Borax Company. Originally from Wisconsin, his Borax mining operations were based in Death Valley. He resided in Oakland, but he had a summer residence on Shelter Island in Suffolk County, NY. The individuals and associated funerary items were donated and accessioned to the University in 1910. The one associated funerary object is a lot of faunal bones.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains and associated funerary objects 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: archeological, geographical, historical, kinship, oral traditional, and expert opinion.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, the University of California, Berkeley has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of at least two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The one object described in this notice is 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.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary object described in this notice and the Shinnecock Indian Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after December 23, 2022. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the University of California, Berkeley 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 University of California, Berkeley 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 10.9, 10.10, and 10.14.

Dated: November 16, 2022.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.