Notice2025-15969
Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of California, Santa Barbara, Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections, Santa Barbara, CA
Primary source
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Published
August 21, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 160 (Thursday, August 21, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 160 (Thursday, August 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40847-40848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15969]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6438; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040848; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of California, Santa
Barbara, Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections,
Santa Barbara, CA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of California, Santa Barbara
(UCSB) Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections
intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition
of objects of cultural
[[Page 40848]]
patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after September 22, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Hugh Radde, University of California,
Santa Barbara, 4129 Cheadle Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2033, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#06484741565447467365756428636273"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ade3eceafdffecedd8cedecf83c8c9d8">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
UCSB Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections, and
additional information on the determinations in this notice, including
the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or related
records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of six cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The six objects of cultural patrimony are five stone tools and one clam
shell disc bead. It is unknown if the collections were exposed to
hazardous substances.
Of the cultural items being requested, four objects of cultural
patrimony are large bifacial stone tools made from various material
types (Accession 128). As of 2025, one stone tool is missing from the
collection. The items were donated to UC Santa Barbara in 1960 by Mrs.
Freddie Curtis. Although the exact provenience is unknown, they were
reportedly collected from the vicinity of Black Canyon near Mojave in
Kern County, CA. The precise date of removal from the site is also
unknown, but it is believed to have occurred prior to 1960.
Of the cultural items being requested, one object of cultural
patrimony is a chipped stone item made of chert (Accession 250.49). On
an unknown date, the item was removed from CA-KERN-455 in Kern County,
CA. It was collected by Chester King in 1977 and was later transferred
to UC Santa Barbara, though the date of transfer is also unknown.
Of the cultural items being requested, one object of cultural
patrimony is a single clam shell disc bead (Accession 829.Kern). The
item was collected from the surface of a location referred to as the
Bitter Springs site in Kern County, California. The exact provenience
and identity of the collector are unknown. The date of transfer to UC
Santa Barbara is also unknown.
Determinations
The UCSB Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections
has determined that:
<bullet> The six objects of cultural patrimony described in this
notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Tejon Indian Tribe.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified
in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be
submitted by 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 cultural items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after September 22, 2025. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the UCSB Repository for Archaeological and
Ethnographic Collections must determine the most appropriate requestor
prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural
items are considered a single request and not competing requests. The
UCSB Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections is
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and
Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and to any
other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: August 6, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-15969 Filed 8-20-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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