2024-14466. Notice of Inventory Completion: San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, CA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the San Bernardino County Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after July 31, 2024

ADDRESSES:

Tamara Serrao-Leiva, San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA 92374, 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 San Bernardino County Museum 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, three individuals have been identified from Smith Mound, Henderson County, Kentucky. These human remains were donated by a private collector at an unknown date. It was deposited to the museum before 2015, at which time it was given a box number N#15. In 2016 an inventory was conducted for human remains in the museum's anthropology storage area, where one box listed ancestors were found at “Smith Mound, Kentucky (Henderson Co).” Human remains were confirmed by osteologist in June of 2024. No further documentation exists.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this notice.

Determinations

The San Bernardino County Museum has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
• There is a connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; The Osage Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 31, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the San Bernardino County Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The San Bernardino County Museum 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: June 24, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.