Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Nye County, NV.

DATES:

Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after October 19, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Dr. Daniel Benyshek, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, telephone (702) 895–2070, email Daniel.Benyshek@unlv.edu.

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 University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 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 University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, 12 individuals were removed from Nye County, NV (Accession #s A200 (Bowman Site), AHUR 24 (Bowman Site), AHUR 25 (Bowman Site), AHUR 26 (Bowman Site), AHUR 27 (Bowman Site), AHUR 63 (Bowman Site), AHUR 64 (Bowman Site), AHUR 65 (Bowman Site), AHUR 72 (Bowman Site), AHUR 129 (Pahrump Valley Site), and FHUR 63 (Unknown Site)). The 52 associated funerary objects include pottery sherds, stone tools, stone flakes, turquoise, faunal bone, shell, mineral, bone awls, sandstone, ochre, charcoal, shell disc beads, a bone tube, organic material, worked bones, lithics, lithic knives, projectile points, burned bone, obsidian flakes, a lithic drill, square shell beads, round shell beads, a flaked obsidian tool, flaked quartzite fragment, chert flakes, CCD flakes, flaked limestone, and mother of pearl.

Aboriginal Land

The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice were removed from known geographic locations in Nye County, NV. These locations are the aboriginal lands of one or more Indian Tribes. The following information was used to identify the aboriginal land: a final judgment of the Indian Claims Commission.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of 12 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 52 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.
• No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe.
• The human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon; Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada; Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians of the Fort Independence Reservation, California; Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, Nevada and Oregon; 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; 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); 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; Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four constituent bands: Battle Mountain Band; Elko Band; South Fork Band; and Wells Band); Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony & Campbell Ranch, Nevada; and the Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada.

Requests for Disposition

Written requests for disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES . Requests for disposition may be submitted by:

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes 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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land Indian Tribe.

Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 19, 2023. If competing requests for disposition are received, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to disposition. Requests for joint disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9 and 10.11.