Notice2026-11232
Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 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
June 4, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of California, Berkeley intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 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 107 (Thursday, June 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 107 (Thursday, June 4, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33749-33750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11232]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7192; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042925; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of California,
Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 33750]]
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of California, Berkeley
intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition
of unassociated funerary objects 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 July 6, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Alexandra Lucas, Government and
Community Relations, Office of the Chancellor. University of
California, Berkeley, 200 California Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#147a757364667539617776547671667f7178716d3a717061"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="610f00061113004c140203210304130a040d04184f040514">[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
University of California, Berkeley, 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 four cultural items have been requested for
repatriation, including two objects of cultural patrimony (baskets),
and two unassociated funerary objects (charmstones).
Samuel Barrett's 1907 to 1917 catalogue indicated someone ``bought
[the baskets] fr. Dogwood people last year when he was over in Sierra E
of Chico. Jeff says the basket is of Maple & looks like reg. Maidu
basket''. Margin annotations within these fieldnotes identify the
baskets among other listed items as Concow. There is no reference in
the Catalogue to the name of the purchaser before Samuel A. Barrett, or
the person they purchased the baskets from. Based on the geographic and
ethnographic data provided, the ``Dogwood people'' mentioned in the
catalogue are identified as the Konkow Valley Band of Maidu Indians.
In 1931, two unassociated funerary objects, charmstones, were
removed from Oroville, Pulga, in Butte County California by N.H.
Reynolds and donated to the University of California, Berkeley's Museum
of Anthropology.
Collections and collection spaces at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of
Anthropology were treated with substances for preservation and pest
control, some potentially hazardous. No records have been found to date
at the Museum to indicate whether or not chemicals or natural
substances were used prior to 1960.
Determinations
The University of California, Berkeley has determined that:
<bullet> The two 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 two 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 reasonable connection between the cultural
items described in this notice and the Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu
Indians of 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 July 6, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the University of California, Berkeley 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 University of
California, Berkeley 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 29, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-11232 Filed 6-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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