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 BIA 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 20 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 20 objects of cultural patrimony are pottery sherds and groundstone items. These objects of cultural patrimony were removed from the Pauma Band of Luiseño Mission Indians Reservation land in San Diego County, California by Lewis K. Napton with the Institute for Archaeological Research, California State College, Stanislaus (Stanislaus State). Archeological surveys were conducted in 1978 and 1979 in search of evidence of cultural resources in preparation for housing construction on the Reservation as requested by the All Mission Indian Housing Authority (AMIHA), Valley Center, California. The objects of cultural patrimony have since been housed at Stanislaus State and were never officially accessioned by the university. An unknown number of unidentified cultural items may be missing from the collections, which may include other categories of items. Stanislaus State continues to search for any additional items that were removed from the Pauma Band of Luiseño Mission Indians Reservation to support their repatriation to the Tribe. There is no documentation that these items have been treated with chemical, harmful, or hazardous substances in the past.

Determinations

The BIA has determined that:

• The 20 objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice have 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 Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation, California.

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 September 30, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the BIA 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 BIA 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 55906