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 LACMNH, 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 11 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 11 objects of cultural patrimony include lots of lithics, groundstone, glass beads, pottery sherds, lead, two arrow shaft straighteners, and one “pillow” that were removed from various locations in Kern County, CA. One arrow shaft straightener was removed from Tehachapi Pass by Howard Robertson and donated to LACMNH by George Reed in 1919. Another arrow shaft straightener was removed from the Tehachapi Mountains at an unspecified time and donated to LACMNH by F.A. Wolfskill in 1926. One lot of lithic material was collected from Maricopa Brea in 1967 by Harley James Garbani during a Museum Foundation field trip and donated to LACMNH by E. Hadley Stuart Jr. in 1969. Two lots of lithic material, one from Saline Valley and one from Walker's Pass, were collected by Carl D. Hegner sometime in the 1920s. Additional material collected from Walker's Pass by Hegner include one lot of glass beads, one lot of pottery sherds, one lot of lead, and one “pillow,” described as a small printed cloth bag thought to have been filled with feathers. The material was donated to LACMNH by the Native Daughters of the Golden West, Tijera Parlor Chapter, ( printed page 25921) in 1971. One lot of lithic material, thought to have been collected during a family camping trip in an area between Los Angeles and Sequoia National Park, was donated to LACMNH by Lily Yuri Tsurumaki in 2022. One lot of groundstone and modified stone fragments was likely collected from Horse Canyon, Grapevine Cave, Jawbone Canyon and Sand Canyon. The date of collection or collector is unknown.

Determinations

The LACMNH has determined that:

• The 11 objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice has 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 connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Tejon Indian Tribe.

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 June 11, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the LACMNH 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 LACMNH 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.

91 FR 25920