Notice2024-01802
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, Fallon, NV
Primary source
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Published
January 30, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge 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 Churchill County, NV.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5932-5933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01802]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037315; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, Fallon,
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, Fish
and Wildlife Service, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge 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 Churchill County, NV.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 29, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Patrick W. Rennaker, Archaeologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Cultural Resources Team, Columbia Pacific Northwest and
Pacific Islands (R1), and Pacific Southwest (R8), 20555 Gerda Lane,
Sherwood, OR 97140, telephone (503) 294-7490, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b6d6d6e3a2f2932383004293e35353a303e291b3d2c28753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bd8b8b88dcc9cfd4ded6e2cfd8d3d3dcd6d8cffddbcace93dad2cb">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional
information on the determinations in this notice, including the results
of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held
by the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge.
Description
Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was removed
from Churchill County, NV. In 1969, modern human activity exposed
skeletal material in a sand dune near the shore of a small lake located
on Stillwater Wildlife Management Area. The site was brought to the
attention of the Nevada Archaeological Survey at the Desert Research
Institute, Nevada. Dr. Hardesty a professor of anthropology and
archaeology at the University of Nevada, Reno inspected the site and
determined the likelihood of further damage was high and the best
possible recourse at the time was to recover as much of the disturbed
material as possible. He recovered all human bone, a mano fragment, and
a freshwater shell. Also noted in the vicinity was scattered shell and
charcoal to a depth of 15 cm below the surface, but the origin of this
material could not be determined. Site dating was not possible as a
result. The two associated funerary objects are one stone mano fragment
and one shell.
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: based on lifeway, oral tradition, folklore, geography,
anthropology, ethnography, archeology, and expert opinion.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate
[[Page 5933]]
Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, the Stillwater
National Wildlife Refuge has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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 Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the
Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada.
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 29, 2024.
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Stillwater
National Wildlife Refuge 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 Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and
Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
This notice was submitted before the effective date of the revised
regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12,
2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the Federal
Register and includes the required information, the National Park
Service is publishing this notice as submitted.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: January 24, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-01802 Filed 1-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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