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 Arizona State University (ASU) Center for Archaeology and Society Repository (CASR), 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 97 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.

The 44 unassociated funerary objects are five lots of faunal bone, 15 lots of ceramic objects, two lots of chipped stone objects, seven lots of ground stone objects, three lots of raw stone objects, one lot of botanicals, two lots of daub/adobe, and nine lots of shell objects.

The 53 lots of sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are two lots of ceramic objects, seven lots of chipped ( printed page 55902) stone objects, 22 lots of ground stone objects, four lots of raw stone objects, and 18 lots of shell objects.

The cultural items were removed from the Las Estufas site in Maricopa County, AZ during three separate archaeological undertakings involving ASU archaeological personnel and students between 1978 and 1986, associated with anticipated and inadvertent sub-surface disturbance of cultural remains during residential housing construction by developer Knoell Homes, Inc. After each field undertaking, the collections were curated by what was then the Department of Anthropology, now the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, at ASU CASR.

There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the cultural items described in this notice and the Ak-Chin Indian Community; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona. The Ak-Chin Indian Community; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona comprise one cultural group known as the O'Odham. Cultural continuity between the prehistoric Hohokam archeological culture and present-day O'Odham peoples is supported by continuities in settlement patterns, architectural technologies, basketry, textiles, ceramic technology, and ritual practices. Oral traditions that are documented for the Ak-Chin Indian Community; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona support their cultural affiliation with Hohokam archeological sites in central and southern Arizona.

ASU CASR is unaware of any treatment of the cultural items listed above with pesticides or other known hazardous substances. An unidentified adhesive is present on one reconstructed ceramic unassociated funerary object. The type of adhesive and the date of its application are unknown.

If additional sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony or unassociated funerary objects are located within the collections discussed above, they will be returned to the Tribe as part of this repatriation.

Determinations

The ASU CASR has determined that:

• The 44 lots of unassociated funerary objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• The 53 lots of sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice are, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, and 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).
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila Indian Reservation, Arizona.

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 ASU CASR 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 ASU CASR 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 55901