4312-52
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038075; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Western Washington University, Department of
Anthropology, Bellingham, WA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: 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.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may
occur on or after [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE
FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: Dr. Judith Pine, Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology,
Arntzen Hall 340, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, telephone (360) 650–4783, email
pinej@wwu.edu.
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 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 onemeter 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 [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION
IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. 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.
Dated: June 3, 2024.
Melanie O’Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-12819 Filed: 6/11/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/12/2024]