Notice2025-22908
Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA
Primary source
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Published
December 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of California, Riverside intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or 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 239 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58280-58281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22908]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6631; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041364; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of California,
Riverside, Riverside, 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, Riverside
intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition
of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of
cultural 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 January 15, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Megan Murphy,
University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside,
CA 92517-5900, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5e333b393f3070332b2c2e36271e2b3d2c703b3a2b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ddb0b8babcb3f3b0a8afadb5a49da8beaff3b8b9a8">[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
University of California, Riverside, 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 19 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The 19 objects of cultural patrimony are four lots of ceramics, four
lots of lithics, one lot of manos, one lot of botanical materials, one
lot of charcoal, two lots of faunal bone, one lot of shell beads, one
lot of unmodified shell, two lots of geological materials, one lot of
fire affected rock, and one lot of glass.
In 1986, the University of California, Riverside Archaeological
Research Unit (UCR-ARU) was contracted by a private development firm to
conduct an archaeological resources assessment of a parcel of land in
the Sage area of Riverside County ahead of the proposed construction of
residential properties. A field survey was conducted, which located
archaeological site CA-RIV-3025. A test excavation, followed by a more
intensive data collection excavation of the site resulted in the
removal of approximately 263 cultural items including animal bone,
ceramic sherds, lithics, shell beads, and unmodified shell, which were
housed at UCR under accession number 115. Archaeological site CA-RIV-
3025 is located near the Cahuilla Valley, known as Pawi to the Cahuilla
people. It is an important part of their ancestral landscape and
cultural objects removed from the region are considered to be Objects
of Cultural Patrimony.
In 1987, the University of California, Riverside Archaeological
Research Unit (UCR-ARU) was contracted by the Sage Ranch Nursery to
conduct an archaeological resources assessment of the ranch ahead of
further property development. During the survey several new sites were
recorded and cultural objects were collected from CA-RIV-3186 and CA-
RIV-3197. Archaeological site CA-RIV-3186 was described by
archaeologists as a scatter of artifacts and milling features, while
CA-RIV-3197 was described as milling features and a midden deposit.
Archaeologists collected several pottery sherds from the surface of
both sites, but did not do any excavation or major data collection.
Those ceramic sherds were housed at UCR under Accession number 124. In
2025, tribal representatives identified the ceramic sherds as being
Objects of Cultural Patrimony. The sites are located near Cahuilla
Valley, which is known to the Cahuilla people as Pawi. It is an
important part of their ancestral
[[Page 58281]]
landscape and cultural objects removed from the region are considered
to Objects of Cultural Patrimony.
In 1987, the University of California, Riverside Archaeological
Research Unit (UCR-ARU) was contracted by a private property owner to
evaluate the extent of two previously recorded archaeological sites on
his property. The property is located in Terwilliger Valley in the
slopes leading up to Table Mountain in southwest Riverside County,
California. Archaeological site CA-RIV-1628 was located during a
previous archaeological investigation and CA-RIV-3279 was located
during the UCR-ARU project. Archaeologists described a large bedrock
milling slick at CA-RIV-1628 and a cache of heating stones at CA-RIV-
3279. They collected approximately 173 items including ceramics and
lithic artifacts, which were subsequently housed under UCR accession
number 125. In 2025, tribal representatives identified the ceramic
sherds and lithic objects as being Objects of Cultural Patrimony. The
region in which the sites are located is known to be part of the
ancestral landscape of the Cahuilla people and cultural objects removed
from the region are considered to be Objects of Cultural Patrimony.
In 2022, the UCR NAGPRA Program staff discovered a small collection
of items in the UCR archaeological collections labelled ``Noah Cary
Ranch, 1968''. The materials included pottery sherds, charcoal,
botanical materials, fire affected rock, faunal bone, and glass. UCR
NAGPRA Program staff could not find any records in the UCR
Archaeological Research Unit files that described how the materials
came to be at UCR, but the collection was assigned UCR accession number
433. Through further research, NAGPRA Program staff were able to
determine that Cary Ranch is an archaeological site in Riverside County
designated as CA-RIV-36. It is located in Cahuilla Valley and it known
to the Cahuilla people as the historic Cahuilla village of Pauk[imacr].
The site contains pictographs, rock shelters, midden deposits, and
bedrock mortars. Potential human cremations have also been noted at the
site. In 2025 representatives of the Cahuilla Band of Indians reviewed
the collection and identified the objects as being Objects of Cultural
Patrimony.
In 2022, the UCR NAGPRA Program staff discovered a small collection
of items in the UCR Archaeological collections with a note reading ``DC
5/70, Barley-Jed Kelly Site, Garner Valley, above Barley on way to
Mines''. The materials include 1 mano, 1 broken mano fragment, and 2
pieces of geological material. UCR NAGPRA Program staff could not find
any records in the UCR Archaeological Research Unit files that
described how the materials came to be at UCR, but the collection was
assigned UCR accession number 461. An additional note with the mano
read, ``Riv. Co. Kenworthy Co Rd. 100' from Hway 71 listed on ASA site
sheet''. Further research into the collection determined that the note
was referring to the old mining town of Kenworthy in Garner Valley,
Riverside County, California. This area is known to the Cahuilla people
as being part of their ancestral landscape and was used particularly as
part of their summer range. In 2025 representatives of the Cahuilla
Band of Indians reviewed the collection and identified the objects as
being Objects of Cultural Patrimony.
Determinations
The University of California, Riverside has determined that:
<bullet> The 19 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 reasonable connection between the cultural
items described in this notice and the Cahuilla Band of Indians.
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 January 15, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the University of California, Riverside 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 University of
California, Riverside 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: November 19, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-22908 Filed 12-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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