Notice2026-09399
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, 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
May 12, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (LACMNH), intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of 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 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25920-25921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09399]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7130; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042747; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Los Angeles County Museum of
Natural History, 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 Los Angeles County Museum of Natural
History (LACMNH), intends to repatriate certain cultural items that
meet the definition of 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 June 11, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Amy E. Gusick, NAGPRA Officer, Los
Angeles County Museum of Natural History, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los
Angeles, CA 90007, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#44252331372d272f042a2c296a2b3623"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6c7c1d3d5cfc5cde6c8cecb88c9d4c1">[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
LACMNH, 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 11 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The 11 objects of cultural patrimony include lots of lithics,
groundstone, glass beads, pottery sherds, lead, two arrow shaft
straighteners, and one ``pillow'' that were removed from various
locations in Kern County, CA. One arrow shaft straightener was removed
from Tehachapi Pass by Howard Robertson and donated to LACMNH by George
Reed in 1919. Another arrow shaft straightener was removed from the
Tehachapi Mountains at an unspecified time and donated to LACMNH by
F.A. Wolfskill in 1926. One lot of lithic material was collected from
Maricopa Brea in 1967 by Harley James Garbani during a Museum
Foundation field trip and donated to LACMNH by E. Hadley Stuart Jr. in
1969. Two lots of lithic material, one from Saline Valley and one from
Walker's Pass, were collected by Carl D. Hegner sometime in the 1920s.
Additional material collected from Walker's Pass by Hegner include one
lot of glass beads, one lot of pottery sherds, one lot of lead, and one
``pillow,'' described as a small printed cloth bag thought to have been
filled with feathers. The material was donated to LACMNH by the Native
Daughters of the Golden West, Tijera Parlor Chapter,
[[Page 25921]]
in 1971. One lot of lithic material, thought to have been collected
during a family camping trip in an area between Los Angeles and Sequoia
National Park, was donated to LACMNH by Lily Yuri Tsurumaki in 2022.
One lot of groundstone and modified stone fragments was likely
collected from Horse Canyon, Grapevine Cave, Jawbone Canyon and Sand
Canyon. The date of collection or collector is unknown.
Determinations
The LACMNH has determined that:
<bullet> The 11 objects of cultural patrimony described in this
notice has 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> 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 June 11, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the LACMNH 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 LACMNH 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: May 5, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-09399 Filed 5-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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