Notice2025-23039
Notice of Inventory Completion: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA
Primary source
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Published
December 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58616-58617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23039]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6687; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041427; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural
History, 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 Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History,
Santa Barbara, CA has completed an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 16, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written claims for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Luke Swetland, Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara,
CA 93105, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7a16090d1f0e161b141e3a0918141b0e0f081f485415081d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cba7b8bcaebfa7aaa5af8bb8a9a5aabfbeb9aef9e5a4b9ac">[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
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 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, one individual have been
identified. At least 20,667 associated funerary objects are present.
The human remains include 127 bone fragments, teeth, and tooth
fragments discovered among faunal remains. This accession, originally
35 boxes of archaeological material excavated from CA-SBA-28 (Burton
Mound) under the direction of Dr. Claude N. Warren in 1968-69, is now
comprised of 10 trays of faunal remains, eight trays of stone debitage,
two trays of asphaltum, one tray of charcoal and ocher, five trays of
shell and shell midden, one tray of historic artifacts, two trays of
prehistoric artifacts, two boxes of groundstone, two shelves of soil
samples, and the abovementioned human remains. Control of this
collection was transferred from the Repository for Archaeological and
Ethnographic Collections, University of California, Santa Barbara, to
the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in 2018.
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 Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical
[[Page 58617]]
remains of at least one individual of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 20,667 objects described in this notice are reasonably
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite
or ceremony.
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains described
in this notice and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of
the Santa Ynez Reservation, California.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January
16, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are
considered a single request and not competing requests. The Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History 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: November 24, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23039 Filed 12-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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