[Federal Register: October 10, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 197)]
[Notices]               
[Page 63152-63153]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10oc02-89]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service
 
Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of California State 
University, Bakersfield, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of 
California State University, Bakersfield, CA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2 (c). The 
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this 
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by California 
State University, Bakersfield, professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River 
Reservation, California.
    In 1976, the Kern County Archaeological Society conducted salvage 
excavations at the Crest Drive-In

[[Page 63153]]

site (CA-KER-480H) in Bakersfield, CA. The Crest Drive-In site 
consisted of a shallow, mass grave containing the skeletal remains of 
approximately 100 individuals, all but eight of which were subsequently 
reburied. The remains of these eight individuals were subsequently 
accessioned by California State University, Bakersfield. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Osteological examination of the remains of the eight individuals in 
the possession of California State University, Bakersfield revealed 
significantly worn teeth and shovel-shaped incisors, which may be 
indicative of prehistoric or protohistoric Native American populations. 
Midden material found associated with some of the human remains in the 
1976 excavations is consistent with a prehistoric or protohistoric date 
for some of the burials. The Crest Drive-In site was long recognized by 
local residents as an old Indian burial ground.
    However, historic period artifacts recovered during the 1976 
excavations indicate that the latest burials date to the latter part of 
the 19th century, after the local Yokut Indians that had traditionally 
used the area had been relocation to the first Tule River Indian 
Reservation (called the Alta Vista Reservation) in 1857. The 
stratigraphic context encountered during the 1976 excavations was 
highly disturbed. According to local residents, around 1947 or 1948 the 
land-owner at the time attempted to level the burial ground area. When 
human remains were discovered, he reportedly scooped out a shallow pit, 
placed the remains in the hole, and covered the bones and associated 
funerary objects with a thin layer of dirt. None of the funerary 
objects recovered in 1976 are in the possession or control of 
California State University, Bakersfield.
    While there is a possibility that some of the eight human remains 
in the possession of California State University, Bakersfield are of 
other than Native American ancestry, the preponderance of the evidence 
supports a determination that they are Native American.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of California 
State University, Bakersfield have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 
10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical 
remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of 
California State University, Bakersfield also have determined that, 
pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is a relationship of shared group 
identity that can be reasonably traced between these Native American 
human remains and the Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River 
Reservation, California.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Tule River Indian 
Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, California. Representatives of any 
other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated 
with these human remains should contact Dr. Robert M. Yohe II, 
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, California State University, 
Bakersfield, CA 93311-1099, telephone (661) 664-3457, before November 
12, 2002. Repatriation of the human remains to the Tule River Indian 
Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, California may begin after that 
date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: August 28, 2002.
Robert Stearns,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 02-25872 Filed 10-9-02; 8:45 am]
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