Notice2025-23040
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Placer County Museums Division, Auburn, 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
December 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Placer County Museums Division 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
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 58580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23040]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6688; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041428; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Placer County Museums Division,
Auburn, CA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Placer County Museums Division 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.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after January 16, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Bryanna Ryan, Placer County Museums
Division, 101 Maple Street, Auburn, CA 95603, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3e5c4c475f507e4e525f5d5b4c105d5f10595148"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="93f1e1eaf2fdd3e3fff2f0f6e1bdf0f2bdf4fce5">[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
Placer County Museums Division, 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 four cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. The four objects of cultural patrimony are one bow with
three arrows made by Jack Suehead (Object Numbers 1986.67.318.1-.4).
The objects were acquired by the Placer County Museums Division by
donation in 1986. Information about how the donor, Bernice Pate,
acquired the objects is unknown. Pate's husband, Waldo Pate, was a
physician who treated local Indians. He often received baskets as
payment for medical services and the couple continued collecting
through purchases and gifts. In the 1960s, Bernice Pate served as the
executive director of the California Indian Commission. The four
objects of cultural patrimony are culturally affiliated with the
Southern Maidu (Nisenan) and originated within their aboriginal
territory in the vicinity of Placer County. The objects have not been
exposed to any potentially hazardous substances while in the possession
of the Placer County Museums Division. There is no visible evidence of
prior treatment and no information indicating prior treatment.
Determinations
The Placer County Museums Division has determined that:
<bullet> The four 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 United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn
Rancheria of California.
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 16, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Placer County Museums Division 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 Placer County Museums
Division 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 24, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23040 Filed 12-16-25; 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 December 17, 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.