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 CSUF, 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 57 associated funerary objects are 24 ceramic vessels, 18 bone implements, two charmstones, one lithic tool, one bead, seven projectile points, two flakes and lithic fragments, one mano, and one fragment of turquoise. The human remains and cultural items were removed by Earl and Mildred Wilson, private collectors that focused primarily on areas of New Mexico and Arizona. The Wilsons noted their collecting locations on hand-drawn maps and the human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from two locations along NM State Road 117, near the northeast boundary of the El Malpais National Monument, in 1960 and 1961. The human remains and associated funerary objects were brought to CSUF in 1974 for curation and the university purchased the collection in 1981.

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

CSUF has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 57 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 Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico.

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 September 30, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, CSUF 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. CSUF 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 55895