[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71760-71762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25128]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-22110; 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 
and associated funerary objects recovered from Spirit Cave, NV, in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation 
between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-
day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of 
any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this 
notice that wish to request transfer of control of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the 
BLM. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of 
the human remains and associated funerary objects from Spirit Cave may 
proceed.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization that wish to request transfer of control of the human 
remains and associated funerary objects from Spirit Cave should submit 
a written request with information in support of the request to the BLM 
Nevada State Office, at the address in this notice by November 17, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: John Ruhs, State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada 
State Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, NV 89502-7147, telephone 
(775) 861-6590, 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the BLM Nevada State 
Office, Reno, NV. The human remains and associated funerary objects 
were removed from Spirit Cave in Churchill 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 and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects was made by the BLM Nevada State Office professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; 
Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Nevada and Utah; 
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the

[[Page 71761]]

Duckwater Reservation, Nevada; Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada; Fort 
McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian 
Reservation, Nevada and Oregon; Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of 
the Las Vegas Indian Colony, Nevada; Lovelock Paiute Tribe of the 
Lovelock Indian Colony, Nevada; Moapa Band of Paiute Indians of the 
Moapa River Indian Reservation, Nevada; Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the 
Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada; Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the 
Pyramid Lake Reservation, Nevada; Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada; 
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada; Summit 
Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada; Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians 
of Nevada (Four constituent bands: Battle Mountain Band; Elko Band; 
South Fork Band and Wells Band); Walker River Paiute Tribe of the 
Walker River Reservation, Nevada; Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California 
(Carson Colony, Dresslerville Colony, Woodfords Community, Stewart 
Community, & Washoe Ranches); Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada; 
Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony & Campbell Ranch, 
Nevada; and Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1940, human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals 
and 10 associated funerary objects were removed from Spirit Cave in 
Churchill County, NV, on lands then owned by the United States and now 
administered by the BLM Nevada State Office. Sydney and Georgia Wheeler 
located Spirit Cave during salvage excavations conducted by the Nevada 
State Parks Commission in and around the Lahontan Basin of western 
Nevada and made collections from the site. This ``Spirit Cave 
Assemblage'' was then curated at the Nevada State Museum in Carson 
City, NV. The human remains consist of one intact, well-preserved 
mummified skeleton of an adult male, aged 40-44 years (Spirit Cave 
Burial #2; NSM Catalog # Ahur 2064; commonly referred to as the 
``Spirit Cave mummy''); one cremation burial (NSM Catalog #'s Ahur 752 
and Ahur 773); one adult female, aged 30-35 years (NSM # Ahur 770); and 
a subadult male, aged approximately 15 years (NSM # Ahur 748). No known 
individuals were identified. The 10 associated funerary objects are one 
outer mat, one inner mat, two leather moccasins, one rabbit skin 
blanket, three woven bags, and two mat fragments. Radiocarbon dating 
estimates the age of the human remains to be between 5,400 to 10,600 
years ago.
    DNA analysis illustrates that the human remains in the Spirit Cave 
Assemblage are effectively more closely related to Native Americans 
than they are to any other population. The associated funerary objects 
contained within the Spirit Cave Assemblage manifest characteristics of 
Native American ancestry, including a rabbit skin blanket, moccasins, 
and woven mats. These cultural items are consistent with the raw 
materials used and the general types of items manufactured throughout 
the prehistory of the Great Basin. Therefore, the BLM Nevada State 
Office has determined that the human remains are Native American.
    While there are similarities in material culture between items 
buried with the individuals that are part of the Spirit Cave Assemblage 
and the Northern Paiute peoples, such as the rabbit skin blanket, these 
similarities are at a general Numic pattern within the Great Basin that 
includes many tribes (``Numic pattern'' refers to items or objects 
similarly made by multiple tribes of Paiute, Shoshone, Ute, and Goshute 
peoples who all share a common language group). The manufacturing of 
rabbit skin blankets, woven mats, and moccasins are all material items 
made by multiple tribes across the Great Basin, both past and present. 
Oral tradition suggests that while the Northern Paiute tribes 
originated in the region from which Spirit Cave is located, at least 
one other non-Paiute tribe once occupied the region as well. The 
available archeological and material culture evidence suggests that the 
Northern Paiute peoples and their associated modern tribes may have 
occupied the central Great Basin by 3,000 years ago, although there is 
no similar evidence which places them in the western Great Basin at 
this time. The DNA results also do not provide evidence that the Spirit 
Cave individuals were a distinct biological group from other groups of 
that age. Additionally, the age and small sample size of the Spirit 
Cave Assemblage does not provide sufficient evidence from which BLM can 
determine that the Spirit Cave individuals were part of a an 
identifiable earlier cultural group, pursuant to NAGPRA 43 CFR 
10.14(c)(2). BLM cannot determine cultural affiliation of the Spirit 
Cave Assemblage.

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 are Native American.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of four individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 10 objects described 
in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near 
individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the 
death rite or ceremony.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day 
Indian tribe.
     According to final judgements of the Indian Claims 
Commission, the land from which the Native American human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of the 
Northern Paiute, represented by the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone 
Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, Nevada and Oregon; 
Lovelock Paiute Tribe of the Lovelock Indian Colony, Nevada; Paiute-
Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada; Pyramid 
Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake Reservation, Nevada; Reno-Sparks 
Indian Colony, Nevada; Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada; Walker River 
Paiute Tribe of the Walker River Reservation, Nevada; Winnemucca Indian 
Colony of Nevada; and Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony & 
Campbell Ranch, Nevada.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects may be to the Fort 
McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian 
Reservation, Nevada and Oregon; Lovelock Paiute Tribe of the Lovelock 
Indian Colony, Nevada; Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation 
and Colony, Nevada; Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake 
Reservation, Nevada; Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada; Summit Lake 
Paiute Tribe of Nevada; Walker River Paiute Tribe of the Walker River 
Reservation, Nevada; Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada; and Yerington 
Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony & Campbell Ranch, Nevada.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(d), transfer of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects to the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the 
Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada, may proceed.

[[Page 71762]]

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of the Indian tribes that wish to request transfer 
of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects 
should submit a written request with information in support of the 
request to John Ruhs, State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada 
State Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, NV 89502-7147, telephone 
(775) 861-6590, email [email protected], by November 17, 2016. After that 
date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the 
Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada may 
proceed.
    The BLM Nevada State Office is responsible for notifying the Fort 
McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian 
Reservation, Nevada and Oregon; Lovelock Paiute Tribe of the Lovelock 
Indian Colony, Nevada; Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation 
and Colony, Nevada; Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake 
Reservation, Nevada; Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada; Summit Lake 
Paiute Tribe of Nevada; Walker River Paiute Tribe of the Walker River 
Reservation, Nevada; Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada; and Yerington 
Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony & Campbell Ranch, Nevada that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: October 5, 2016.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2016-25128 Filed 10-17-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P