Notice2026-06825
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, 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
April 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Sonoma State University 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 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18001-18002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06825]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7070; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042563; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Sonoma State University, Rohnert
Park, 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), Sonoma State University 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 May 11, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Kirsten Twork, Sonoma State
University, 1801 E Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c3b7b4acb1a8a883b0acadacaea2eda6a7b6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4c0c3dbc6dfdff4c7dbdadbd9d59ad1d0c1">[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 Sonoma
State University, 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 1,672 lots of cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. Of the cultural items being requested 1,485 lots are
unassociated funerary objects and 187 lots are sacred objects.
A total of one lot of sacred objects was removed from CA-MRN-216 in
Marin county, California. Information as to how and why the cultural
material ended up as Sonoma State University is not available. The
items include modified obsidian. Notes suggest that the cultural
material has been at the university since at least 1997.
A total of 870 lots of unassociated funerary objects were removed
from CA-SON-906 in Graton, California in Sonoma county. This previously
unrecorded site was recorded during vegetation clearing for the
creation of the Russian River Marin Water project creating an aqueduct
connecting Sonoma and Marin counties. The items include flaked stone
debitage, flaked stone tools, ground stone tools, fire cracked rock,
unmodified faunal bone, historic material, and unmodified shell. The
cultural items have been at Sonoma State University since 1976.
A total of 13 lots of sacred objects were removed from Graton,
California in Sonoma county. The cultural material was removed during
the Storm Engineering/Graton Survey. The items include flaked stone
debitage. The cultural items have been at Sonoma State University since
1976.
A total of eight lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-
914 in Graton, California in Sonoma county. The cultural material was
removed from the surface during an archaeological survey. The items
include modified stone tools and flaked stone debitage. The cultural
items have been at Sonoma State University since 1977.
A total of 27 lots of sacred objects were removed from the McBail
Property in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. Information as to
how and why the cultural material ended up as Sonoma State University
is not known. The items include modified obsidian, modified stone,
historics, unmodified shell, and unmodified faunal bone. The cultural
items have been at Sonoma State University since 1980.
A total of 576 lots of unassociated funerary objects were removed
from CA-SON-377 in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. A portion of
the items from CA-SON-377 were brought to Sonoma State University in
1985 under unknown circumstances. The items have resided at Sonoma
State University since that time. In 1986 a surface archaeological
investigation took place at the site due to planned development. The
items removed have resided at Sonoma State University since that time.
The items include groundstone, modified stone tools, flaked stone
debitage, unmodified shell, unmodified faunal bone, charcoal, clay,
fire affected rock, ochre, petrified wood, unmodified stone, organics,
and historics.
A total of 28 lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-199
in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. Information as to how and why
the cultural material ended up as Sonoma State University is not known.
The items include modified obsidian, flaked stone debitage, unmodified
faunal bone, and unmodified shell. The cultural items have been at
Sonoma State University since 1987.
A total of three lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-
400 in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural material
appears to have been accepted by the university in 1974 and according
to records was the result of an excavation done in 1968. The items were
loaned to the Petaluma Museum and returned in 1985. Following the
return of the items they were reaccessioned under a different number.
The items include petrified wood sticks.
A total of 33 lots of sacred objects were removed from the Two Rock
Survey area, which includes CA-SON-1027, CA-SON-1028, and CA-SON-1031H,
in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural material was
removed during a survey of the area. The items include modified
obsidian, flaked stone debitage, and historics. The cultural items have
been at Sonoma State University since 1977.
A total of two lots of sacred objects were removed from the Lori
Lane Survey area in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural
material was removed during a survey of the area. The items include
flaked stone debitage. The cultural items have been at Sonoma State
University since 1977.
A total of eight lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-
399 in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. Information as to how and
why the cultural material ended up as Sonoma State University is not
known. The items include modified stone tools and flaked stone
debitage. The cultural items have been at Sonoma State University since
1980.
A total of eight lots of unassociated funerary objects were removed
from CA-SON-1314 in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural
material was removed during a survey at Frates Ranch in 1980. The items
include groundstone, modified stone tools, and modified obsidian. The
cultural items have been at Sonoma State University since 1981.
A total of two lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-
1380/H in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural material
was removed
[[Page 18002]]
during a survey at the site. The items include flaked stone debitage
and historics. The cultural items have been at Sonoma State University
since 1980.
A total of 10 lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-1382
in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural material was
removed during a survey on the Silvia Property in 1981 and accessioned
in 1982. The items include modified obsidian and flaked stone debitage.
The cultural items have been at Sonoma State University since 1982.
A total of 31 lots of unassociated funerary objects were removed
from CA-SON-1395 in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural
material was removed during a survey at the site. The items include
groundstone, modified obsidian, flaked stone debitage, and unmodified
shell. The cultural items have been at Sonoma State University since
1982.
A total of one lot of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-1396
in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural material was
removed during a survey at the site. The items include modified stone.
The cultural items have been at Sonoma State University since 1982.
A total of 41 lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-1445
in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. The cultural material was
removed during a survey of Sonoma Mountain Road. The items include
modified obsidian. The cultural items have been at Sonoma State
University since 1984.
A total of 10 lots of sacred objects were removed from CA-SON-1865
in Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. Information as to how and why
the cultural material ended up as Sonoma State University is not known.
The items include flaked stone debitage. The cultural items have been
at Sonoma State University since 1990.
In the case of missing cultural items, any additional items when
located will also be repatriated from the collections discussed above.
Based on records concerning the cultural items and the institution in
which they are housed, there is no evidence of the items being treated
with hazardous substances.
Determinations
Sonoma State University has determined that:
<bullet> The 1,485 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 187 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> 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 May 11, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, Sonoma State University 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 Sonoma State University 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: April 1, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-06825 Filed 4-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 9, 2026.
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