Notice2026-02698
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, 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
February 11, 2026
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 intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of a sacred object and that has 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 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6258-6259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02698]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6921; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041994; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: 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
intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition
of a sacred object and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or
after March 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural item in this notice to Luke Swetland, President and CEO, Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara,
CA 93105, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a0ccd3d7c5d4ccc1cec4e0d3c2cec1d4d5d2c5928ecfd2c7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfb3aca8baabb3beb1bb9facbdb1beabaaadbaedf1b0adb8">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative
[[Page 6259]]
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 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 one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one sacred object is a Yurok/Hupa (Hoopa)/Karuk Jump Dance Medicine
Basket. This item was purchased by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural
History, from Bonhams auction house, in San Francisco, CA, on Dec. 7,
2015. Limited provenience information indicates, ``the original
collector was an anthropologist from Southern California who bought
lots of things in the 1950s, '60s (mostly), and '70s. They are being
sold by his heirs.''
Determinations
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has determined that:
<bullet> The one sacred object described in this notice is a
specific ceremonial object needed by a traditional Native American
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional
knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization.
<bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the cultural item
described in this notice and the Big Lagoon Rancheria, California;
Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, California;
Hoopa Valley Tribe, California; Karuk Tribe; Pulikla Tribe of Yurok
People (previously listed as Resighini Rancheria, California); and the
Yurok Tribe of the Yurok Reservation, California.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item
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 item in this notice to a requestor may
occur on or after March 13, 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 cultural item 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 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: February 4, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-02698 Filed 2-10-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 11, 2026.
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