[Federal Register: August 29, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 169)]
[Notices]
[Page 50994-50995]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29au08-111]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of
Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the
completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary
objects in the possession of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of
Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. The
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from
Siskiyou County, CA.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administration responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
An assessment of documents associated with the human remains and
associated funerary objects was made by professional staff of the
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology in consultation with
representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community
of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and
Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of
California.
In 1955, human remains representing a minimum of 21 individuals
were removed from CA-Sis-262 (also known as the Foster site), a site
located along Bogus Creek in Siskiyou County, CA, by J. Foster, the
landowner, and J.A. Bennyhoff and A.B. Elsasser of the University of
California Archaeological Survey. The human remains and associated
funerary objects were accessioned into the museum later that same year
(Accession UCAS-357). No known individuals were identified. The 31,970
associated funerary objects are 4 lots of animal bones (including horse
and dog burials); 3 arrow points; 1 fragment of baked clay; 2 bangles;
55 basketry fragments; 31,246 beads (approximate count); 73 bells; 1
belt fragment; 3 blades; 13 bracelets; 2 buckles; 226 buttons; 100
charcoal fragments (approximate count); 2 china fragments; 1 obsidian
flake; 2 clappers; 32 cloth fragments; 12 cordage fragments; 1 glass
fragment; 2 handles; 1 harness; 2 hatched handles; 2 hooks; 5 iron
fragments; 1 lead or pewter fragment; 1 piece of leather; 2 nail
fragments; 65 pendants; 2 pestles; 1 pipe fragment; 2 porcelain
fragments; 2 pots; 1 rivet; 1 rod; 1 scissors fragment; 1 screw; 1
sheat; 1 shell fragment; 2 sherds; 1 shoe sole; 2 shots; 1 spool; 3
spoon fragments; 21 animal teeth; 66 thimbles; and 1 wire fragment.
CA-Sis-262 was an historic cemetery located on the west bank of
Bogus Creek, a tributary of the Klamath River, about 1 mile south of
Foster's Ranch. The site was destroyed during the process of diverting
Bogus Creek from its original course between May 7 and
[[Page 50995]]
May 12, 1955. Prior to the site's destruction, the University of
California Archaeological Survey received permission to excavate the
site by the landowner who had earlier removed human remains and
artifacts. Museum documents indicate that some of the artifacts were
kept by the landowner while all the human remains were given to the
museum without, however, any accompanying documentation.
The antiquity of CA-Sis-262 is known through the presence of Desert
side notched points that indicate that the site was in use during the
Tule Lake Phase (after A.D. 1500). The recovery of some coins minted in
A.D. 1776, 1781, and 1860, further refine the chronological timeline of
some of the burials. Two newspaper articles, which were published at
the time of the University of California Archaeological Survey
excavation, reported that a woman of Indian descent recalled the story
of a deadly ambush that happened sometime between 1863 and 1866 when a
German peddler and a group of Shasta were killed by members of the
Modoc (Sacramento Bee, May 11, 1955; Oakland Tribune, May 29, 1955).
After the soldiers came and ran off the Modoc, the Shasta went back and
buried their dead with the exception of the German peddler who was
buried by the soldiers in a different location. These newspaper
accounts suggest that (at least part of) the site is the result of a
deadly skirmish between the Modoc and the Shasta sometime between 1863
and 1866.
The Shasta language belongs to the Hokan stock, which is probably
the oldest language stock in California (Shipley 1978). At the time of
contact with the Europeans, Shasta-speakers inhabited Siskiyou County,
as well as parts of Oregon's Jackson and Klamath Counties. The first
contact with Europeans came in the early part of the 19th century in
the form of fur trappers, as indicated by the Shasta word for
``White,'' which is the Chinook Jargon word for ``Boston'' (Silver
1978:212). The first published personal account of the Shasta came from
the United States Exploring Expedition that passed through Shasta
territory in 1841 on its way to San Francisco (Dixon 1907:389). For the
area and the native population, the biggest impact came with the Gold
Rush in the 1850s. The destruction of food sources and the general
hostility of the miners led to a rapid decline in the Shasta
population. In 1851, the Shasta signed one of the infamous unratified
treaties. In the agreement, their reservation was to be in Scott
Valley, CA. In 1856, however, the Shasta were taken first to the Grande
Ronde and then to the Siletz reservations in Oregon. In 1962, only a
small number of surviving members were living on the Quartz Valley
Rancheria in California, which is located in Siskiyou County (Silver
1978:212). The descendants of the Shasta are members of the
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon;
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and Quartz
Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California.
Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains
described above represent the physical remains of 21 individuals of
Native American ancestry. Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of
Anthropology have also determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001
(3)(A), the 31,970 objects described above are reasonably believed to
have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of
death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials
of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology have determined that,
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a relationship of shared group
identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American
human remains and associated funerary objects and the Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of
the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and Quartz Valley Indian Community of
the Quartz Valley Reservation of California.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary
objects should contact Judd King, Interim Director of the Phoebe A.
Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley,
Berkeley, CA 94720, telephone (510) 642-3682, before September 29,
2008. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon;
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and Quartz
Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California
may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology is responsible for
notifying the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of
Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and
Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of
California that this notice has been published.
Dated: July 28, 2008.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-20092 Filed 8-28-08; 8:45 am]
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