[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72704-72706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28927]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-14190: PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Office, Reno, NV

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), Nevada State Office, has completed an inventory of human 
remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and present-day Indian tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of 
any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this 
notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human should 
submit a written request to the BLM. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal 
descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in 
this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to the BLM 
at the address in this notice by January 2, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Paul E. Podborny, Field Manager, Schell Field Office, HC 33 
Box 33500, Ely, NV 98301, telephone (775) 289-1868, email 
[email protected]; K. Renee Barlow, Archaeologist/Cultural Resource 
Specialist, Schell Field Office, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV 98301,

[[Page 72705]]

telephone (775) 289-1849, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains under 
the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), Nevada State Office, Reno, NV. The human remains were 
removed from the Snake Creek Indian Burial Cave, in White Pine County, 
NV.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by BLM Schell 
Field Office professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Nevada and Utah; 
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada; Ely 
Shoshone Tribe of Nevada; Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar Band of 
Paiutes, Kanosh Band of Paiutes, Koosharem Band of Paiutes, Indian 
Peaks Band of Paiutes, and Shivwits Band of Paiutes) (formerly Paiute 
Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar City Band of Paiutes, Kanosh Band of 
Paiutes, Koosharem Band of Paiutes, Indian Peaks Band of Paiutes, and 
Shivwits Band of Paiutes)); Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley 
Reservation, Nevada; Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah; Te-
Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four constituent 
bands: Battle Mountain Band; Elko Band; South Fork Band and Wells 
Band); and the Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada.

History and Description of the Remains

    In March, 1980, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed legally from the Snake Creek Indian Burial Cave 
(site 26WP23) in White Pine County, NV. The BLM Schell Field Office 
archeologist was monitoring the cave and identified three human bone 
fragments on the surface below the mouth of the cave, which he felt 
could possibly be disturbed by recreational caving activities. He 
collected the remains and sent them to the Nevada State Museum. These 
remains are cataloged as AHUR 6003 and represent one adult, possibly 
male. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects were present or observed in association with the human remains.
    The burial site is located in a solution karst, or cave with 
several connected underground chambers and a vertical entrance that 
requires rappelling in from the ground surface. Entering the cave 
requires a drop of about 35 feet into the main chamber, and as a result 
it has been a natural trap for animals since the Pleistocene period. 
The remains of ice age camel, horse, wolverine, badger, marten, wolf 
and other locally extinct fauna along with wood and other organic 
material were recovered from the cave by paleontological research 
conducted between 1984 and 1988, i.e. after the removal of the human 
remains reported in this notice. The dates obtained for the extinct 
horse bones, as well as wood and bat guano, were, respectively, 
approximately 15,100 BP, 9460 BP, and 7860 BP (Mead and Mead 1989, 
1985).
    Archeologists in the early to mid-1900s noted cultural materials in 
the cave and on the ground outside the mouth of the cave. Those 
materials, including a ladder and pottery, were identified by 
archeologists in the 1930s and 1950s as ``Puebloan,'' or likely 
associated with the Formative period, which includes several nearby 
sites now known to be large habitation sites associated with the 
Fremont culture. However, these artifacts have not been re-located, and 
were not found in association with the human remains reported here.
    The cave is located in Shoshone, Western Shoshone, or Niwi 
Territory, adjacent to a historic Shoshone community in an area near 
the Nevada-Utah border used traditionally by Shoshone and Goshute 
peoples (Steward 1938). In addition, the cave was also used 
historically as a burial place by Goshute and/or Shoshone people. 
Wheeler (1938) concluded that the cave was a Shoshone burial site, as a 
``cone'' of human remains of Shoshone individuals and their belongings 
was located immediately below the opening of the cave. Ms. Laura Stark 
Rainey, a member of the Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada, whose uncle lived 
in Garrison, Utah, relates that the uncle told her that he drove away 
two archeologists who were removing bodies from the cave and taking 
everything out of the cave. She believes that this incident occurred 
circa 1930s (personal communication 2013). Ms. Rainey further reports 
her uncle as saying he thought the archeologists came back later and 
removed additional bodies when he wasn't watching. A member of the 
Cedar Band of Paiute Indians, Ms. Kathleen Gondor remembers her 
grandfather or great-grandfather saying that the cave was where they 
buried the last Shoshone or Goshute Chief (personal communication 
2013). In addition, representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the 
Goshute Reservation, Nevada and Utah; Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada; and 
the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada, have 
previously indicated that the cave is a sacred place, and a prehistoric 
burial site (Molenaar 2010).
    The overall condition of the human remains, comparisons with past 
descriptions of human remains in the cave, the context and removal of 
these bones from the surface of the cave by a BLM archaeologist in 
1980, and recommendations made by the archeologist at the time of 
removal indicate a likely time of deposition and method of burial 
consistent with the traditional burial practices of Shoshone people.

Determinations Made by the BLM Nevada State Office

    Officials of the BLM Nevada State Office have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute 
Reservation, Nevada and Utah; Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada; and the 
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Paul E. 
Podborny, Field Manager, Schell Field Office, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV 
98301, telephone (775) 289-1868, email [email protected], by January 2, 
2014. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains to the Confederated Tribes of 
the Goshute Reservation, Nevada and Utah; Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada; 
and the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada, 
may proceed.

[[Page 72706]]

    The BLM Nevada State Office is responsible for notifying the 
Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Nevada and Utah; 
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada; Ely 
Shoshone Tribe of Nevada; Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar Band of 
Paiutes, Kanosh Band of Paiutes, Koosharem Band of Paiutes, Indian 
Peaks Band of Paiutes, and Shivwits Band of Paiutes) (formerly Paiute 
Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar City Band of Paiutes, Kanosh Band of 
Paiutes, Koosharem Band of Paiutes, Indian Peaks Band of Paiutes, and 
Shivwits Band of Paiutes)); Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley 
Reservation, Nevada; Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah; Te-
Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four constituent 
bands: Battle Mountain Band; Elko Band; South Fork Band and Wells 
Band); and the Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada 
that this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 26, 2013.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-28927 Filed 12-2-13; 8:45 am]
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