Notice2026-05037
Notice of Intended Repatriation: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Petroleum Reserves, Washington, DC
Primary source
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Published
March 16, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Petroleum Reserves, intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony 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 50 (Monday, March 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 50 (Monday, March 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12609-12610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05037]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6978; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042299; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: U.S. Department of Energy,
Office of Petroleum Reserves, Washington, DC
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 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of
Petroleum Reserves, intends to repatriate certain cultural items that
meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects,
and/or 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 April 15, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Dr. Michael G. Elliott, U.S.
Department of Energy, John Weld Peck Federal Building, 550 Main Street,
Room 7-010, Cincinnati, OH 45202, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#612c08020900040d4f040d0d080e15152109104f050e044f060e17"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dd90b4beb5bcb8b1f3b8b1b1b4b2a9a99db5acf3b9b2b8f3bab2ab">[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
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Petroleum Reserves, and additional
[[Page 12610]]
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 23 boxes of cultural items currently stored at
California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) have been requested for
repatriation. The materials derive from eight federally authorized
archaeological investigations conducted at the former Naval Petroleum
Reserve No. 1 (NPR-1), also known as the Elk Hills Oil Field, located
in Kern County, California, prior to the property's privatization in
1998. The collection consists primarily of lithic materials, including
stone tools and debitage, with additional shell beads and faunal
remains. No artifacts were treated with potentially hazardous
substances. Available documentation indicates that no human remains
were included as part of these CSUB-held materials.
Formal consultation meetings and discussions were conducted with
representatives of the Tejon Indian Tribe, Tule River Indian Tribe, and
Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe to discuss the repatriation
regulatory process and to receive Tribal and CSUB input.
Determinations
The U.S. Department of Energy has determined that:
<bullet> The one or more 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> The one or more sacred objects described in this notice
are specific ceremonial objects 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> The one or more 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> The one or more sacred objects/objects of cultural
patrimony described in this notice are, according to the Native
American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional
Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice
traditional Native American religion, and 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).
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Tejon Indian Tribe.
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 15, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of
Petroleum Reserves, 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 U.S.
Department of Energy, Office of Petroleum Reserves, 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: March 5, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05037 Filed 3-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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