Notice2026-00459
Notice of Intended Repatriation: San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Primary source
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Published
January 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the San Francisco State University (SF State) NAGPRA Program intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 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 91 Issue 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1338-1339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00459]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6750; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041745; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: San Francisco State University,
San Francisco, 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 San Francisco State University (SF
State) NAGPRA Program intends to repatriate certain cultural items that
meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 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 February 12, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Alexander Dursin, San Francisco State
University NAGPRA Program, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA
94132, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9efff2fbe6fff0fafbecfaebecedf7f0deedf8edebb0fbfaeb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="046568617c656a606176607176776d6a44776277712a616071">[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 SF
State NAGPRA Program, 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 256 cultural items/lots have been requested for
repatriation. The 256 objects/lots 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 of a Native American culture according to the
Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian
Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The items include 116 lots of
historic glass, 43 lots of shells, 22 lots of faunal remains, 17 lots
of mixed items, 15 lots of rocks, 10 lots of carbon samples/charcoal,
nine lots of bird bones, eight lots of chert, six lots of fish bones,
two lots of lithics, one lot containing a non-human mammal bone, one
lot of obsidian, and one lot containing fragments of a turtle shell,
three lots (in boxes) of various ground stones, and two large mortars.
Between 1850 and 1855, four burial sites, including over 10,000
objects of cultural patrimony or sacred objects, were removed from CA-
MRN-17, on De Silva Island, in Marin County, CA, by San Francisco State
University under the directives of Gary W. Pahl, a Professor at SF
State. Objects taken from CA-MRN-17 were jointly curated by SF State
and Sonoma State University Anthropological Studies Center until 1998,
when all objects from CA-MRN-17 were transferred to SF State. All
Ancestors and Associated Funerary Objects from this site were
repatriated to Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR), California
in 2008 and 2012 (see Notice of Inventory Completion published in
Federal Register on May 23, 2008 (E8-11569); Notice of Inventory
Completion published in Federal Register on October 1, 2012 (2012-
24091); and Notice of Intended Repatriation published in Federal
Register on September 28, 2012 (2012-23920). The remainder of the items
were not repatriated, as they were believed to not be subject to NAGPRA
at the time. New evidence and determinations have qualified these items
to be repatriated under NAGPRA.
Determinations
The SF State NAGPRA Program has determined that:
<bullet> The 256 items/lots described in this notice are reasonably
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains,
and are connected, either at the time of death or later as part of the
death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the
[[Page 1339]]
Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian
Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. These items/lots been
identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human
remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific
burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with
cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria,
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 February 12, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the SF State NAGPRA Program 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 SF State NAGPRA Program 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: January 5, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00459 Filed 1-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 13, 2026.
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