83 FR 62891 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 234 (December 6, 2018)

The Oakland Museum of California, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects or objects of cultural patrimony. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request to the Oakland Museum of California. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural items to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 234 (Thursday, December 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62891-62892]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26446]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0026950; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Oakland Museum of 
California, Oakland, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Oakland Museum of California, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has 
determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the 
definition of unassociated funerary objects or objects of cultural 
patrimony. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request to the 
Oakland Museum of California. If no additional claimants come forward, 
transfer of control of the cultural items to the lineal descendants, 
Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice 
may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the Oakland Museum of California 
at the address in this notice by January 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Violetta Wolf, Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak 
Street, Oakland, CA 94607, telephone (510) 318-8489, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given in accordance with 
the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA, that meet the 
definition of unassociated funerary objects or objects of cultural 
patrimony 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 Native 
American cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    In the 19th or 20th century, one cultural item was removed by an 
unknown party from an unknown location in California. Sometime in the 
20th century, the object came into the possession of the father of Mr. 
William H. Bird, Sr. of Oakland, CA. The circumstances under which 
Bird's father acquired the cultural item are unclear. Bird gifted the 
cultural item to the Oakland Museum of California on September 26, 
1974, when he distributed his father's collection of Native American 
cultural items to the Oakland Museum of California, Merritt College, 
the Lowie Museum of Anthropology (now known as the Phoebe A. Hearst 
Museum of Anthropology), and the Oakland Museum Women's Board White 
Elephant Sale. The one object of cultural patrimony is a xaa-ts'a' 
(mush bowl). The mush bowl (catalog number H74.285.6) was accessioned 
by the Oakland Museum of California in 1974. The mush bowl is woven 
from twined

[[Page 62892]]

bear grass with a diamond pattern. It is approximately four inches tall 
and eight inches in diameter. The mush bowl was used by family groups.
    The cultural item has been identified as Tolowa in archival 
documents and the original gift documentation. Consultations from the 
Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (previously listed as the Smith River Rancheria, 
California) and the Yurok Tribe of the Yurok Reservation, California 
have both confirmed the Tolowa affiliation of this cultural item.
    In the 19th or 20th century, one cultural item was removed from the 
mouth of Smith River in Del Norte County, CA. On November 1, 1949, Mr. 
M. W. Dadey of Oakland, California, donated the item to the Oakland 
Public Museum. The circumstances under which the cultural item came 
into the possession of Mr. Dadey are unknown. In 1965, the collection 
of the Oakland Public Museum was merged with the collections of two 
other institutions to create the collection of the Oakland Museum of 
California. The one unassociated funerary object is a stone maul. The 
stone maul (catalog number H16.4389) is made from basalt or another 
igneous rock, is six inches long, and was made by pecking and grinding.
    The Tolowa Dee-ni' (previously listed as the Smith River Rancheria, 
California) are culturally affiliated with the area from which the 
cultural item was removed. This is supported by archival records and 
reports, museum records, Department of the Interior sources, academic 
sources, and correspondence with Tolowa Dee-ni' representatives. 
Additional archival sources and correspondence with the Tolowa Dee-ni' 
(previously listed as the Smith River Rancheria, California) describe 
this cultural item as being consistent with the known burial practices 
of the Tolowa.

Determinations Made by the Oakland Museum of California

    Officials of the Oakland Museum of California have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the one cultural item 
identified as catalog number H16.4389 and described above is 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 and is 
believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from 
a specific burial site of a Native American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(D), the one cultural item 
identified as catalog number H74.285.6 and described above has ongoing 
historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native 
American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an 
individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the two 
cultural items described above and the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation 
(previously listed as the Smith River Rancheria, California).

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request with information 
in support of the claim to Violetta Wolf, Oakland Museum of California, 
1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607, telephone (510) 318-8489, email 
[email protected], by January 4, 2019. After that date, if no 
additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the 
unassociated funerary object and the object of cultural patrimony to 
the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (previously listed as the Smith River 
Rancheria, California) may proceed.
    The Oakland Museum of California is responsible for notifying the 
Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (previously listed as the Smith River Rancheria, 
California) that this notice has been published.

    Dated: November 7, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-26446 Filed 12-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P