[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15801-15802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office 
[www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6321]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Parks and 
Recreation, Sacramento, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The California Department of Parks and Recreation has completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation 
with the appropriate Indian tribes, and has determined that there is a 
cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects and present-day Indian tribes. Representatives of any Indian tribe 
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains and 
associated funerary objects may contact the California Department of Parks 
and Recreation. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no additional 
claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a cultural 
affiliation with the human remains and associated funerary objects should 
contact the California Department of Parks and Recreation at the address 
below by April 16, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Rebecca Carruthers, NAGPRA Coordinator, California Department of 
Parks and Recreation, 1416 9th Street, Room 902, Sacramento, CA 95814, 
telephone (916) 653-8893.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of 
the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects under the control of the California Department of Parks and 
Recreation. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed 
from the Morris Mound site (CA-SAC-199) in Sacramento County, CA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the museum, 
institution or Federal agency that has control of the Native American human 
remains and associated funerary objects. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects was made by the California Department of Parks and Recreation 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of Buena Vista 
Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk 
Indians of California; Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California; Jackson 
Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok 
Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; Tuolumne Band 
of Me-Wuk Indians of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California; and the United 
Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California (hereafter 
referred to as ``The Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1950, human remains representing, at minimum, nine individuals were 
removed from Morris Mound (site CA-SAC-199) in Sacramento County, CA. James 
Sturgeon of Fair Oaks, CA, excavated the site and donated the collection to 
the California Department of Parks and Recreation on February 15, 1977. No 
known individuals were identified. The 11 associated funerary objects are 1 
silicate flake scraper and 10 mammal bones.
    The site was occupied during the Late Horizon Period (after A.D. 500). 
Archeologists believe that the Penutian-speaking Maidu and Miwok are 
descended from what have been identified as the Windmiller people who 
occupied the Central Valley of California 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. 
Geographic affiliation is consistent with the historically documented use of 
the area by the Nisenan (Southern Maidu) and the Plains Miwok. This 
collection is affiliated with the historic Nisenan or

[[Page 15802]]

the Northern Sierra Miwok, based on the movement of both groups near the 
borders of what is now identified as their historic territories. Therefore, 
the professional staff of the California Department of Parks and Recreation 
has determined that there is a relationship of shared group identity, which 
can be reasonably traced between these Native American human remains and The 
Tribes.

Determinations Made by the California Department of Parks and Recreation

    Officials of the California Department of Parks and Recreation have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this 
notice represent the physical remains of nine individuals of Native American 
ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 11 objects described above are 
reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains 
at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of shared group 
identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American human 
remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally 
affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary objects should 
contact Rebecca Carruthers, NAGPRA Coordinator, California Department of 
Parks and Recreation, 1416 9th Street, Room 902, telephone (916) 653-8893, 
before April 16, 2012. Repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The California Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for 
notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 12, 2012.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-6321 Filed 3-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P