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Notice2026-17166

Notice of Intended Repatriation: California Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, 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
August 24, 2026

Issuing agencies

Interior DepartmentNational Park Service

Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the California Department of Parks and Recreation 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 162 (Monday, August 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 162 (Monday, August 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 54755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17166]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7434; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043537; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: California Department of Parks 
and Recreation, Sacramento, 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 Parks and 
Recreation 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 September 23, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the 
cultural items in this notice to Dr. Leslie L. Hartzell, NAGPRA 
Coordinator, California Department of Parks and Recreation, P.O. Box 
942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#014d64726d68642f496073757b646d6d417160736a722f62602f666e77"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4c00293f20252962042d3e38362920200c3c2d3e273f622f2d622b233a">[email&#160;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 
California Department of Parks and Recreation, 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 873 lots of cultural items have been requested for 
repatriation.
    The 873 lots of objects of cultural patrimony are asphaltum, 
ceramic artifacts, flaked stone artifacts, groundstone, modified bone, 
organic ecofacts, and unidentified missing material. Some of the 
cultural items are physically attached to display mounts. Between 1918 
and 1930, Nestor Alcinous Young, Jr. removed the cultural items 
(ACCN.CH:1) from within a thousand-yard radius of the house and spring 
(Barrel Springs/CA-LAN-82) on his farm in Antelope Valley, California. 
In 1947, Young sold the collection to the University of Southern 
California Anthropology Department. In 1954, the department transferred 
the collection to the Antelope Valley Indian Museum. In 1979, Grace 
Oliver donated the Antelope Valley Indian Museum collection to the 
California Department of Parks and Recreation. The California 
Department of Parks and Recreation has no information about the 
cultural items being treated with potentially hazardous substances.

Determinations

    The California Department of Parks and Recreation has determined 
that:
    <bullet> The 873 lots 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> There is a connection between the cultural items described 
in this notice and the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation (previously 
listed as San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, 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 September 23, 2026. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation 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 California 
Department of Parks and Recreation 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: August 17, 2026.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-17166 Filed 8-21-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on August 24, 2026.

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