Notice2026-04047
Notice of Intended Repatriation: California Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, 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
March 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the California Department of Parks and Recreation 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 40 (Monday, March 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10118-10119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04047]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6962; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042096; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: California Department of Parks
and Recreation, Sacramento, 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 California Department of Parks and
Recreation 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 April 1, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Dr. Leslie L. Hartzell, NAGPRA
Coordinator, California Department of Parks and Recreation, P.O. Box
942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#165a73657a7f73385e7764626c737a7a566677647d6538757738717960"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="733f16001f1a165d3b12010709161f1f3303120118005d10125d141c05">[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
California Department of Parks and Recreation, 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 29 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The 16 lots of unassociated funerary objects are modified stone,
unmodified stone, charcoal, crystal, faunal bone, bone tools, glass
fragments, hoof shoes, wood tools, nails, pendant, ochre, seed, shell,
wood, and unidentified items. In 1977, the cultural items were removed
from CA-ELD-201 (Pedersen Site), in Eldorado County, CA, during salvage
data recovery work led by John W. Foster during a period of drought at
Folsom Reservoir.
The four lots of unassociated funerary objects are projectile
points (whole or fragments), an obsidian flake, soapstone objects, a
volcanic glass chunk. Between 2004 and 2005, the cultural items were
removed from CA-ELD-260 in Eldorado County, CA, during a DPR project at
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.
The two lots of unassociated funerary objects are chipped stone
artifacts or debitage and a drilled soapstone chunk. The cultural items
were removed from CA-ELD-262 in Eldorado County, CA, during a DPR
project at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.
The four lots of unassociated funerary objects are granite pestle,
greenstone hammer, cobble chopper, and glass trade bead. In 1980, Fritz
Riddell removed the cultural items from CA-SAC-185, in Sacramento
County, CA, at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.
The one lot of unassociated funerary objects is a glass bead (082-
X-3910). At an unknown date, the cultural item was removed from CA-SAC-
29, in Sacramento County, CA. At an unknown date, Curtis A. Boyd
transferred the cultural item to California Department of Parks and
Recreation.
The two lots of unassociated funerary objects are flaked stone and
ground stone. At an unknown date, the cultural items were removed from
CA-SAC-320, located on private property in Sacramento County, CA, by a
``pot hunter'' and received by DPR in 1983.
Determinations
The California Department of Parks and Recreation has determined
that:
<bullet> The 29 unassociated funerary objects 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 Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The
unassociated funerary objects have 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 Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle
Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California.
[[Page 10119]]
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 April 1, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the California Department of Parks and
Recreation 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 California
Department of Parks and Recreation 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 20, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-04047 Filed 2-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 2, 2026.
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