Notice of Intended Repatriation: San Francisco State University NAGPRA Program, San Francisco, CA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the San Francisco State University (SF State) NAGPRA Program intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 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 August 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Elise Green, San Francisco State University NAGPRA Program, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, telephone (415) 405-3545, email egreen@sfsu.edu.

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 SF State NAGPRA Program, 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 86 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 86 lots of unassociated funerary objects are soil samples, shells, basalt choppers, basalt core, basalt flakes, scrapers, assorted rocks, charcoal, pottery fragments, chert point, shell, obsidian points, glass fragments, Olivella bead, stones, square nail, faunal bones, a mortar, and a pestle. CA-TEH-20, CA-TEH-UNK, and CA-TEH-24 are part of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Survey located in the Corning Quadrangle in Corning, California. CA-TEH-Sacramento River archaeological site collection was donated by Adan E. Treganza to the now defunct Treganza Anthropology Museum. Treganza probably surface collected from various sites in Tehama County when working on the Tehama-Colusa Canal projects in 1950s-60s. There are no other records for CA-TEH-Sacramento River at SF State. The survey abstract indicates that these sites are affiliated with the Central Wintun, whose aboriginal occupation of the surrounding areas is well-documented in the ethnographic literature.

It was once common practice by museums to use chemicals on cultural items to prevent deterioration by mold, insects, and moisture. To date, the SF State NAGPRA Program has no records documenting use of chemicals at our facilities, and we currently do not use chemicals on any cultural items. A former SF State professor, Dr. Michael Moratto, stated that staff used glues, polyvinyl acetate, and a solution called Glyptol to mend and stabilize cultural objects in the past. Prior non-invasive and non-destructive hazardous chemical tests conducted at the SF State NAGPRA Program repositories show arsenic, mercury, and/or lead in some storage containers, surfaces, and certain cultural items.

Determinations

The SF State NAGPRA Program has determined that:

• The 86 lots of 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.
• There is a reasonable connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians of California and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki 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 August 12, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the SF State NAGPRA Program 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 SF State NAGPRA Program 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.