82 FR 27279 - Notice of Inventory Completion: San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner, San Bernardino, CA

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 113 (June 14, 2017)

The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and any present- day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a written request to the San Bernardino County Sheriff- Coroner. If no additional requestors come forward, the human remains may be reinterred.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27279-27280]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12293]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23373; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: San Bernardino County Sheriff-
Coroner, San Bernardino, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner has completed an 
inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there 
is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and any present-
day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of 
any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this 
notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains 
should submit a written request to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-
Coroner. If no additional requestors come forward, the human remains 
may be reinterred.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains should submit a written 
request with information in support of the request to the San 
Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner at the address in this notice by July 
14, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Robert Hunter, Diplomat--ABMDI, Unidentified Persons 
Coordinator, San Bernardino County

[[Page 27280]]

Sheriff-Coroner, 175 South Lena Road, San Bernardino, CA 92418, 
telephone (909) 387-2978.

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 under 
the control of the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner, San 
Bernardino, CA. The human remains were removed from an unknown 
location.
    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. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the San 
Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner professional staff in consultation 
with the California Native American Heritage Commission.

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from an unknown location. On October 4, 1996, 
the San Bernardino County Sherriff-Coroner's office took custody of two 
skulls and placed them into curation at the Coroner facility. The human 
remains were determined to be Native American based on context and an 
anthropological examination. Between October 1996 and October 2016, 
numerous attempts were made to determine a most likely decedent with 
local area Indian Tribes and the California Native American Heritage 
Commission. No Indian Tribes in California were willing to accept the 
human remains without clear provenience. No known individuals were 
identified. No funerary objects were present.
    Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.16, the Secretary of the Interior may 
recommend that culturally unidentifiable human remains with no ``tribal 
land'' or ``aboriginal land'' provenience be reinterred under State or 
other law. In January 2017, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner 
requested that the Secretary, through the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Review Committee, recommend the proposed 
re-interment of the culturally unidentifiable Native American human 
remains in this notice, according to State or other law. The Review 
Committee, acting pursuant to its responsibility under 25 U.S.C. 
3006(c)(5), considered the request at its March 2017 meeting and 
recommended to the Secretary that the proposed re-interment proceed. An 
April 2017 letter on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior from the 
National Park Service Associate Director for Cultural Resources, 
Partnerships, and Science transmitted the Secretary's independent 
review and concurrence with the Review Committee that:
     No Indian Tribes objected to the proposed re-interment, 
and
     the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner may proceed with 
the proposed re-interment of the culturally unidentifiable human 
remains.
    Re-interment is contingent on the publication of a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that 
requirement.

Determinations Made by the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner

    Officials of the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on context and other artifacts 
found with the human remains.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and any present-day Indian Tribe.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), a ``tribal land'' or 
``aboriginal land'' provenience cannot be ascertained.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.10(g)(2)(ii) and 43 CFR 10.16, the 
human remains may be reinterred according to the law of San Bernardino 
County, CA.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 
not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control 
of these human remains should submit a written request with information 
in support of the request to Robert Hunter, Diplomat--ABMDI, 
Unidentified Persons Coordinator, San Bernardino County Sheriff-
Coroner, 175 South Lena Road, San Bernardino, CA 92418, telephone (909) 
387-2978, by July 14, 2017. After that date, if no additional 
requestors have come forward, the human remains may be reinterred.
    The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner is responsible for 
notifying the California Native American Heritage Commission that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: May 8, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-12293 Filed 6-13-17; 8:45 am]
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