2019-05999. Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Fowler Museum at University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Fowler Museum at University of California (UCLA) in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request to the Fowler Museum at UCLA. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural items 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 claim these cultural items should submit a written request with information in support of the claim to the Fowler Museum at UCLA at the address in this notice by April 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Wendy G. Teeter, Ph.D., Fowler Museum at UCLA, Box 951549, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, 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. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the control of the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001.

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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

In March 1960, 25 cultural items were removed from the banks of Pismo Creek (CA-SLO-832) in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Collections from the site derive from salvage operations led by M.B. McKusick before the complete destruction of a cemetery due to construction activities on privately owned land. No human remains were collected. Unassociated funerary objects were identified as being removed from the cemetery on the knoll. The collections have been curated at UCLA since 1960. The site has been dated to A.D. 340 +/−80 years. The 25 unassociated funerary objects are four bowl fragments, two metate fragments, two pestle fragments, 12 flaked stone tools, two flakes, one finishing stone, and two bi-pitted anvils.

Through consultation, the Fowler Museum has determined that the Pismo Creek site lies within the traditional territory of the Chumash. This determination is consistent with ethnographic and historic documentation. The unassociated funerary objects in this notice are consistent with others that are attributable to groups ancestral to the present-day Chumash people. The material culture of the earlier groups living in the geographical area encompassing the Pismo Creek site is characterized by archeologists as having passed through various stages over the past 10,000 years. Many local archeologists assert that the changes in the material culture reflect evolving ecological adaptations and related changes in social organization of the same populations, and do not represent population displacements or movements. The same range of artifact types and materials were used from the early pre-contact period until historic times. Native consultants explicitly state that population mixing, which did occur on a small scale, would not alter the continuity of the shared group identities of people associated with specific locales. Based on this evidence, shared group identity may reasonably be traced between the earlier group at the Pismo Creek site and present-day Chumash people.

Determinations Made by the Fowler Museum at University of California Los Angeles

Officials of the Fowler Museum at University of California Los Angeles have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 25 cultural items described above 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 and are believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native American individual.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the unassociated funerary objects and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request with information in support of the claim to Wendy G Teeter, Ph.D., Fowler Museum at UCLA, Box 951549, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, telephone [phone], email [e-mail], by April 29, 2019. After that date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the unassociated funerary objects to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California may proceed.

The Fowler Museum at University of California Los Angeles is responsible for notifying the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California that this notice has been published.

Dated: February 25, 2019.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.