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 California Department of Parks and Recreation, 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 39 lots of cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 39 lots of sacred objects are Abqo regalia and associated items, including missing or identified items.

California Department of Parks and Recreation records indicate that the sacred objects were taken from the ceremonial dance house at the Sulfur Bank Rancheria without permission. About 1958, the sacred objects were donated to the State of California Department of Natural Resources Division of Beaches and Parks, now the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Although the donation was made anonymously, in 1979, F.A. Riddell, State Indian Museum curator, identified A.E. Treganza as the donor. The sacred items are associated with Sarah Brigham who died in 1949 or before. These objects are integral to present-day religious traditions associated with the Maru beliefs. In 2023, the California Department of Parks and Recreation repatriated another group of sacred objects that were also taken from the ceremonial dance house at the Sulfur Bank Rancheria without permission and associated with Sarah Brigham, to lineal descendant Robert Geary. On December 24, 2002, the sacred objects were published in a Notice of Intent to Repatriation in the Federal Register (67 FR 78508, December 24, 2002) and that notice was amended on March 21, 2023 (88 FR 17007, March 21, 2023).

Determinations

The California Department of Parks and Recreation has determined that:

• The 39 lots of sacred objects described in this notice are specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
• Robert Geary is connected to the cultural items described in this notice.

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 December 14, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the California Department of Parks and Recreation 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 California Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to all requestors and 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 72890