Notice2026-18344
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, 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
September 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Antelope Valley College (AVC) 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 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57365-57366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18344]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7478; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043683; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Antelope Valley College,
Lancaster, 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 Antelope Valley College (AVC) 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 October 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Dr. Darcy L. Wiewall, Antelope Valley
College, Department of Anthropology, 3041 W Ave. K, Lancaster, CA
93536, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#65010417061c4b120c0012040909250413064b000110"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ee8a8f9c8d97c099878b998f8282ae8f988dc08b8a9b">[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 AVC,
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 two lots of cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. The two lots of objects of cultural patrimony include 17
boxes of flaked stone and ground stone. The Lovejoy Springs (CA-LAN-
192/AVC-174) site is located along a series of buttes on the floor of
the southeastern Antelope Valley, north of the San Gabriel Mountains,
Los Angeles County. Between 1994 and 1996, Roger W. Robinson,
Consulting Archaeologist and Professor of Anthropology at AVC, along
with a group of his students and volunteers, performed several site
inspections on behalf of the LA County Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR) and monitored construction of the original Lake Los
Angeles Community Park (now Stephen Sorensen Park). All recovered
materials were catalogued, and a report was produced (Robinson 1996).
No hazardous substances are known to have been used to treat any of the
cultural items.
The site has been investigated numerous times (see Price et al.
2009). Based on these excavations, archaeologists have determined
Lovejoy Springs was occupied as early as 2525 BC (4000 BP) during the
Gypsum Period and through the Late Prehistoric Period (cal A.D. 1100-
1769) (Price et al. 2009:182-184). The deep midden deposits, an
extensive quantity of milling implements, and a cemetery suggests it
was a major village location (Mason et al. 2018:30; Sutton 2016).
Archaeologists have asserted that Serrano peoples have continuously
occupied the San Gabriel Mountains and the surrounding areas for up to
5,000-6,000 years BP. Linguistic sources demonstrate a strong
continuous shared group identity between those people and modern Native
Americans of Serrano descent Golla (2011). Ethnographic evidence and
Traditional Knowledge document the Antelope Valley region as home to
Serrano peoples since time immemorial (Earle 1990, 2005). These
records, combined with communication and consultation with
representatives of the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation (previously
listed as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians) and non-federally
recognized California Tribes including the Fernande[ntilde]o Tataviam
Band of Mission Indians and the San Fernando Band of Mission Indians,
these individuals are Native American.
Determinations
AVC has determined that:
<bullet> The two lots of 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 reasonable 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).
[[Page 57366]]
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 October 9, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, AVC 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 AVC 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: September 1, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-18344 Filed 9-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 9, 2026.
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