Notice2026-09416
Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Transportation, Oakland, CA
Primary source
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Published
May 12, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) 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 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25918-25919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09416]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7153; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042769; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of
Transportation, Oakland, 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 Transportation
(Caltrans) 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 June 11, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the associated
funerary objects in this notice to Cesar Villanueva, PQS Principal
Investigator--Precontact Archaeology, California Department of
Transportation, District 4, 111 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8ccfe9ffedfea2dae5e0e0ede2f9e9faedcce8e3f8a2efeda2ebe3fa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b785e485a49156d5257575a554e5e4d5a7b5f544f15585a155c544d">[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
Caltrans, 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
Associated funerary objects identified as 357 catalog entries
representing lithics, paleobotanicals, soil samples, faunal remains,
shell, light fraction samples, ground stone, and post-contact historic
artifacts. Of the 357 associated funerary objects, four catalog numbers
are missing, and Caltrans and Sonoma State University (SSU) continue to
look for them. This collection is from Sonoma County along Highway 1
and is housed at SSU. The collection is the result of Caltrans project-
delivery related excavations at CA-SON-348/H (Accession No. 2013-18) in
2008 and 2009. There are no known/documented potentially hazardous
substances used to treat any of the cultural items.
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
Caltrans has determined that:
[[Page 25919]]
<bullet> The 357 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 associated funerary objects
described in this notice and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria,
California and the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point
Rancheria, California.
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 June 11, 2026. If competing
requests for repatriation are received, Caltrans 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. Caltrans is responsible for sending
a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: May 5, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-09416 Filed 5-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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