[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 28066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11868]


[[Page 28066]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

 [2253-665]

Notice of Intent To Repatriate a Cultural Item: Phoebe A. Hearst 
Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 
CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.
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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent 
to repatriate a cultural item in the possession of the Phoebe A. Hearst 
Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 
CA, that meets the definition of sacred object under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    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 cultural 
item. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.
    The one cultural item is identified in museum records as a Shaman's 
leather belt (catalog number 1-27141). In 1929, museum records 
identified the cultural item as being ``Athabascan,'' ``Bear River 
Tribe,'' and from Humboldt County, CA. The belt was donated to the 
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of 
California, Berkeley, by Dr. and Mrs. J.O. Nomland who had received it 
from its owner, Norma Coonskin, a Bear River elder.
    Museum records confirm that the belt had originally belonged to 
Mrs. Nora Coonskin, a traditional elder of the Bear River Band. In 2008 
and 2009, the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of 
California, Berkeley, consulted with the Bear River Band of the 
Rohnerville Rancheria regarding the ownership of the belt. Consultation 
evidence presented by the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria 
shows that the belt is a sacred object, and the museum agrees with all 
the evidence presented and will repatriate the object.
    Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, 
University of California, Berkeley, have determined, pursuant to 25 
U.S.C. 3001(3)(C), that the one object described above is a specific 
ceremonial object needed by traditional Native American religious 
leaders for the practice of traditional Native American religions by 
their present-day adherents. Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum 
of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, also have 
determined, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), that there is a relationship 
of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
sacred object and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, 
California.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the sacred object should contact Dr. 
Anthony M. Garcia, Repatriation Coordinator, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology, 103 Kroeber Hall, University of California, Berkeley, 
Berkeley, CA 94720-3712, telephone (510) 643-5283, before June 13, 
2011. Repatriation of the sacred object to the Bear River Band of the 
Rohnerville Rancheria, California, may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of 
California, Berkeley, is responsible for notifying the Bear River Band 
of the Rohnerville Rancheria, California, that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: May 9, 2011.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2011-11868 Filed 5-12-11; 8:45 am]
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