Notice2026-03557
Notice of Inventory Completion: Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Primary source
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Published
February 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Fowler Museum at UCLA has completed an inventory of associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8518-8519]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03557]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6933; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042039; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los
Angeles, 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 Fowler Museum at UCLA has completed an
inventory of associated funerary objects and has determined that there
is a cultural affiliation between the associated funerary objects and
Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the associated funerary objects in this notice
may occur on or after March 25, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the associated
funerary objects in this notice to Allison Fischer-Olson, Fowler Museum
at UCLA, Box 951549, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7716111e04141f1205181b04181937160503045902141b1659121302"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1475727d67777c71667b78677b7a54756660673a617778753a717061">[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
Fowler Museum at UCLA, 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
The 46 lots of associated funerary objects are chipped stone
artifacts, groundstone artifacts, a lithic flake, shell beads, and
steatite beads. These cultural items were removed from cremation
burials located at Cole's Levee on the shore of Buena Vista Lake in
Kern County, CA, during a UCLA archaeological field class led by Ralph
L. Beals around 1940 or 1941. They were received by the Fowler Museum
at UCLA prior to October 1953 and comprise a portion of Accession 60.
The collection also included human remains and associated funerary
objects that were repatriated to the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut
Tribe on March 22, 2006. During initial consultations in 2006, Cole's
Levee was identified as within traditional Yokut territory. In
consultations with the Tejon Indian Tribe in 2025, these items were
identified as culturally affiliated with the Tribe and were removed
from their ancestral territory. Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe
also reiterated that Cole's Levee is within Tachi Yokut territory
during 2025 consultations. Treatment history of these items is unknown.
The one lot of associated funerary objects is a bag of faunal bone.
During initial NAGPRA work in 1995, this faunal bone was found with
human remains in a drawer with the label ``McKittrick Survey Area'' or
``'burial' from McKittrick Survey.'' The remains and faunal bone were
incorporated into the Fowler Museum at UCLA's collections as Accession
925. The history of this collection is unclear, but they were likely
removed during a 1977 archaeological survey of the McKittrick area of
Kern County, CA, directed by C. William Clewlow (UCLA Archaeological
Survey), then brought to UCLA by Michael Walsh. Following Tribal
consultation, the human remains were transferred to the Kern County
Coroner's Office in 2004, while the faunal bone remained at UCLA. UCLA
staff contacted the Coroner's Office in 2025 regarding the remains, but
the investigation into their current whereabouts is ongoing. During
initial consultations prior to 2004, the McKittrick Survey area was
identified as within traditional Yokut territory. In consultations with
Tejon Indian Tribe in 2025, the faunal bone was identified as
associated funerary objects that are culturally affiliated with the
Tribe and were removed from their ancestral territory. Santa Rosa
Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe also reiterated that the McKittrick area is
within Tachi Yokut territory during 2025 consultations. Treatment
history of these items is unknown.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the associated funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The Fowler Museum at UCLA has determined that:
<bullet> The 47 lots of 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 associated funerary
objects described in this notice and the Santa Rosa Indian Community of
the Santa Rosa Rancheria, California and the Tejon Indian Tribe.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the 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 associated funerary objects described in this
notice to a requestor may occur on or after March 25, 2026. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Fowler
[[Page 8519]]
Museum at UCLA must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the associated
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing
requests. The Fowler Museum at UCLA is responsible for sending a copy
of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations
identified in this notice and any other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: February 13, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-03557 Filed 2-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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