# Notice of Intended Repatriation: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
**AGENCY:**
National Park Service, Interior.
**ACTION:**
Notice.
**SUMMARY:**
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Western Washington University intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
**DATES:**
Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after April 15, 2026.
**ADDRESSES:**
Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Tamara Billie, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Mailbox 44, Albuquerque, NM 87104, 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 U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
**Abstract of Information Available**
A total of 330 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 330 objects of cultural patrimony comprise precontact lithics, historic items, mammal, fish, and bird bones, shell, charcoal, pebbles, and associated sediment. In 1954, Dr. Herbert Taylor of Western Washington University (WWU) and field school students conducted excavations on Squaxin Island. Taylor's field notes from this work indicate that Sites #1, #4, and #9 were identified. These may correspond to recorded archaeological sites 45-MA-37 and/or 45-MA-54 (Taylor 1956, Anthropological Investigation of the Medicine Creek Tribes Relative to Tribal Identity and Aboriginal Possession of Lands, Docket No. 234, De. Ex. 129). No hazardous chemicals are known to have been used to treat these items while in the custody of WWU.
**Determinations**
The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, has determined that:
• The 330 objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Squaxin Island Tribe of the Squaxin Island Reservation.
**Requests for Repatriation**
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under *ADDRESSES* . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by 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 cultural items in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after April 15, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and not competing requests. The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.
*Authority:* Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: March 5, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.