Notice2025-17619
Notice of Inventory Completion: Merced College, Merced, CA
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 12, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Merced College 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.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 44234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17619]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6501; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041042; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Merced College, Merced, CA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Merced College 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 October 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
in this notice to Jeff Buechler, Social Sciences--Stop 35, Merced
College, 3600 M Street, Merced, CA 95348, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5dfd0d3d3c7d0cc9bd7c0d0d6ddd9d0c7f5d8d6d6d19bd0d1c0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="abc1cecdcdd9ced285c9decec8c3c7ced9ebc6c8c8cf85cecfde">[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 Merced
College and additional information on the determinations in this
notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the
inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
On an unknown date, human remains representing at least one
individual were removed from an unrecorded site labeled ``Mariposa,''
an unknown location presumably in or near the town of Mariposa in
Mariposa County. No associated funerary objects are present.
In the 1920s, human remains representing at least one individual,
were removed from a rock shelter in Indian Gulch, presumably somewhere
along Indian Gulch Road, south of Hornitos and ten-to-thirty miles from
the Don Pedro Reservoir in Mariposa County. These were said to have
been removed by ``an old timer, a former surveyor with an intimate
knowledge of the area around Coulterville'' and whose name may have
been Maclean. In or before 1970, the human remains were donated to
Merced College. No associated funerary objects are present.
On an unknown date, human remains representing at least one
individual were removed from ``Bagby Cove'' (or possibly ``Cave,'' the
written documentation is unclear), presumably near the town of Bagby on
Lake McClure in Mariposa County. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the human remains.
Determinations
Merced College has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the human remains
described in this notice and the Bishop Paiute Tribe; Bridgeport Indian
Colony; Northfork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California; Picayune
Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California; and the Tuolumne Band of
Me-Wuk Indians of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California.
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 and, if joined to a request
from one or more of the Indian Tribes, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation
(aka American Indian Council of Mariposa County, Inc.), a non-federally
recognized Indian group.
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 in this notice to a requestor may
occur on or after October 14, 2025. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, Merced College 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. Merced College 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: August 29, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-17619 Filed 9-11-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 12, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.