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 Metropolitan Museum of Art, 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, one individual have been identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

The human remains were used to fashion a flute (former Met accession number 1979.296.401). (H. 13 x Diam. 2.5 inch.). The flute had been identified as fashioned from animal bone until consultation between the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California (SYBCI) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in December 2024, during which it was determined that the flute was fashioned from an Ancestral human remain. The flute is light raw sienna in color with white pearls, a large circle formed of three concentric rings of haliotis shell inlay, a band of shell beads above the mouthpiece, and conch shell.

The flute was reportedly excavated in Arroyo Sequit, near Malibu, California, which runs through both Ventura and Los Angeles counties. There is no official site number. This location reasonably identifies the human remains as Chumash in origin. The item was loaned by Nelson A. Rockefeller to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, in 1955, and given by bequest to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1979; Mr. Rockefeller acquired the item in 1955 from Stendahl Galllery, New York and Los Angeles.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this notice.

Determinations

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
• There is a connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 22, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, The Metropolitan Museum of Art must determine the most ( printed page 37126) appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Metropolitan Museum of Art 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 37125