[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 955-956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00125]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037196; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LAKE) 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. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from Clark County, NV.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 7, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Mike Gauthier, Superintendent, Lake Mead National Recreation 
Area, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005, telephone (760) 252-6103, 
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 
Superintendent, LAKE. Additional information on the determinations in 
this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the 
inventory or related records held by LAKE.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Lost City site (26CK007) in Clark County, NV, in the early to 
mid-1960s by amateur archeologist R.V. Seeley during his exploration of 
the site. The collection was donated by Mr. Seeley to the Burke Museum 
at the University of Washington in 1965 and later transferred to LAKE 
in 2002. The two associated funerary objects are one lot of ceramic 
sherds and one lot of lithic fragments.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects 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, archeological information, 
geographical information, and historical information.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, LAKE has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The two 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Ak-Chin Indian Community; 
Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation, California; 
Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, 
Arizona and California; Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California 
& Nevada; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; Havasupai Tribe of the Havasupai Reservation, 
Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Hualapai 
Indian Reservation, Arizona; Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians of the 
Kaibab Indian Reservation, Arizona; Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians 
of the Las Vegas Indian Colony, Nevada; Moapa Band of Paiute Indians of 
the Moapa River Indian Reservation, Nevada; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New 
Mexico, & Utah; 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); Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma 
Indian Reservation, California & Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa 
Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Yavapai-
Prescott Indian Tribe; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New 
Mexico.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in 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 February 7, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, LAKE 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. LAKE 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

[[Page 956]]

U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, and 
10.14.

    Dated: December 28, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-00125 Filed 1-5-24; 8:45 am]
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