Notice of Inventory Completion: Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, WA (2024)

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National Park Service, Interior.

Notice.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Western Washington University (WWU) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after July 12, 2024.

Dr. Judith Pine, Western Washington University, Department of Start Printed Page 49901 Anthropology, Arntzen Hall 340, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, telephone (360) 650-4783, email pinej@wwu.edu.

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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 WWU, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Based on the information available, human remains representing, at least, 23 individuals have been reasonably identified. The 84 associated funerary objects consist of worked bone and antler, worked stone, worked shell, incised clay, ochre, and non-human mammal, bird, and fish bones.

The human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice were removed from Cherry Point near Ferndale, Whatcom County, WA. Students from WWU worked at site 45-WH-01 under the direction of WWU professor Dr. Herbert Taylor, for two summers in the 1950s, and professor Dr. Garland Grabert in the spring and/or summers of 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, and 1986. As part of the field schools, students excavated multiple one-meter by one-meter units. No known individuals were identified. No hazardous chemicals are known to have been used to treat the human remains or associated funerary objects while in the custody of WWU.

The human remains in this notice are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were used to reasonably trace the relationship: anthropological information, archaeological information, geographical information, historical information, and oral tradition.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The WWU has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of at least 23 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 84 objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• There is a reasonable connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

2. 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 human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 12, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the WWU must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The WWU is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

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