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Notice

Published Document: 2026-13750 (91 FR 42223)

This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of California, Berkeley 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 August 7, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Alexandra Lucas, Government and Community Relations, Office of the Chancellor. University of California, Berkeley, 200 California Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, email .

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 University of California, Berkeley, 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

In 1907 and 1938, the University of California Museum of Anthropology (today the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology) accessioned 36 lots of objects of cultural patrimony removed from the area of Indian Wells, Riverside County, CA and represented in museum records as CA-RIV-64. The objects of cultural patrimony include worked stone, faunal remains, and ceramic fragments.

Collections and collection spaces at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology were treated with substances for preservation and pest control, some potentially hazardous. No records have been found to date at the Museum to indicate whether or not chemicals or natural substances were used prior to 1960.

Determinations

The University of California, Berkeley has determined that:

  • The 36 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.
  • There is a reasonable connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, 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 ( printed page 42224) 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 7, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the University of California, Berkeley 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 University of California, Berkeley 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: June 30, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-13750 Filed 7-7-26; 8:45 am]

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