2024-03652. Notice of Inventory Completion: California State Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the California State Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and have determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Sacramento County, CA.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Dr. Lisa Bright, Branch Chief District 3, Cultural Resources (South), California State Department of Transportation, 703 B Street Marysville, CA 95901, 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 Caltrans. 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 California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) and Caltrans.

Description

In the spring of 1957 (approximately February/March) human remains representing, at minimum, six individuals were removed from CA–SAC–96 (Accession Number 81–299; also known as Allen/Allyn Mound). The 1957 excavations were carried out by Sacramento State College (now Sacramento State) under the direction of Norman Wilson on behalf of the California Division of Highways (now Caltrans). No excavation reports were written, and the collection remained uncatalogued until October 2023.

Occupation of the site is estimated to have occurred during the Late Phase 2, post 500 years before present based on bead and pendent size and shape although occupation could extend back as far as 1,000 years before present. The associated funerary objects removed from this site (83 catalog entries) include baked clay objects; modified bones, stones, and shells; historic materials; flaked and ground stones; faunal remains; burnt basketry; and beads. The human remains were not individually catalogued, and those that had been previously boxed separately were treated as lots. Bags of faunal remains were also treated as lots to minimize handling. An additional 18 objects are currently missing from the collection and Caltrans and Sacramento State continues to look for them. This count is based on handwritten index cards that were identified as associated with this collection. These 18 objects were not identified during the cataloging process.

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: anthropological, archeological, geographical, historical, 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, Caltrans has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 83 catalog entries 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.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California; Jackson Band of Miwuk Indians; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California; 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 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 March 25, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, California State University, Sacramento 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. Caltrans is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.

This notice was submitted after the effective date of the revised regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12, 2024) but in the older format. As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the Federal Register and includes the required information, the National Park Service is publishing this notice as submitted.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

Dated: February 14, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.