# Notice of Inventory Completion: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA
**AGENCY:**
National Park Service, Interior.
**ACTION:**
Notice.
**SUMMARY:**
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA 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 January 16, 2026.
**ADDRESSES:**
Send written claims for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to Luke Swetland, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, email *[email protected].*
**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 Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
**Abstract of Information Available**
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified. At least 20,667 associated funerary objects are present. The human remains include 127 bone fragments, teeth, and tooth fragments discovered among faunal remains. This accession, originally 35 boxes of archaeological material excavated from CA-SBA-28 (Burton Mound) under the direction of Dr. Claude N. Warren in 1968-69, is now comprised of 10 trays of faunal remains, eight trays of stone debitage, two trays of asphaltum, one tray of charcoal and ocher, five trays of shell and shell midden, one tray of historic artifacts, two trays of prehistoric artifacts, two boxes of groundstone, two shelves of soil samples, and the abovementioned human remains. Control of this collection was transferred from the Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections, University of California, Santa Barbara, to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in 2018.
**Cultural Affiliation**
Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this notice.
**Determinations**
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has determined that:
• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of at least one individual of Native American ancestry.
• The 20,667 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 connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California.
**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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 16, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History 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 Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History 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: November 24, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.