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 Museum of Us, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Human remains representing, at least, three individuals have been identified. The 1,511 associated funerary objects are from two archaeological sites.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual, and 953 associated funerary objects removed from Vernon Mound (CV-1; CA-SUT-11) in Sutter County, CA include 10 baked clay objects, 50 faunal bone awls, 28 faunal bone beads, nine faunal bone fragments, 29 faunal bone implements and fragments, 24 faunal bone ornaments, two faunal bone tubes, eight faunal bone whistles and fragments, one charmstone, one groundstone fragment, 38 Haliotis disc beads, 681 Haliotis ornaments, three pieces of mineral material, three faunal bone needles, three miscellaneous faunal bone fragments, 15 projectile points, 13 strings of shell beads, 10 strings of stone beads, one lot of mixed shell and stone beads, one shell button, two lots of loose clam shell blanks, one stone dish fragment, three stone ear plugs, 10 stone pendants, and seven carbonized textile fragments.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual, and 539 associated funerary objects from Bennet Mound (CV-6; CA-SAC-16) in Sacramento County, include six strings of shell beads, three strings of mixed shell and stone beads, 18 strings of stone beads, one string of shell bead blanks, seven mortars, eight pestles, two net weights, 12 stone discs, 15 bone awls, 97 Haliotis ornaments, two steatite pipes, three steatite pipe fragments, 141 projectile ( printed page 24279) points, one stockton curve, five bipointed bone implements, one pottery sherd, six obsidian blades, one blade, two ochre pieces, five quartz crystals, 29 loose stone beads, 11 loose bone beads, 18 loose glass beads, 16 stone pendants, 14 stone implements, one groundstone slab, 21 miscellaneous stone pieces, one hammerstone, eight clam shell blanks, nine bone whistles, one shell bead, one shell pendant, two stone ear plugs, one stone drill, three stone pebbles, eight fish gorges, one claw pendant, one clay bird effigy, one groundstone point, one bone ornament, two miscellaneous obsidian pieces, one bone fragment, one endscraper, two historic porcelain and brass pieces, one lot of glass trade beads, one lot mixed stone and glass beads, one lot loose shell beads, one lot mixed shell and stone beads, 15 charmstones, 25 baked clay objects, two lots of mixed shell beads and flora, one lot of carbonized seeds, one lot of carbonized acorns, and one lot of cache material.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual, and 19 associated funerary objects removed from Joe Mound (CV-26; CA-SAC-31) in Sacramento County, CA include one baked clay object, three projectile points, one lot of carbonized textile material, five lots of glass trade beads, one lot of miscellaneous bead material, one buckeye nut, one lot of screening material, two historic metal tableware fragments, and four European clay pipe fragments.

Between 1930 and 1936, the ancestral remains and 1,511 associated funerary objects were removed by Henry Gibbs, a private collector and looter. In 1937, Paul A. Walker purchased Gibbs' Central Valley, California archeological collection. Walker was an amateur archeologist and collector who worked by himself and with other amateur archeologists, and in collaboration with the University of California and Sacramento Junior College. Over the course of his life, Walker amassed an extensive archeological collection from California's Central Valley and smaller collections from Northern and Southern California, and outside of California. In 1968, Walker's private archeological collection was acquired by the San Diego Museum of Man (now Museum of Us) through a purchase/donation transaction with Walker's widow, Bessie B. Walker.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The Museum of Us has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 1,511 objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• There is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

2. 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 4, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Museum of Us must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Museum of Us is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and any other consulting parties.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

91 FR 24278