people of snowy mountain, people of the river

493 Pages·2013·5.42 MB·English

Pacific West Region: Social Science Series National Park Service
Publication Number 2012-01 U.S. Department of the Interior

P S M ,
EOPLE OF NOWY OUNTAIN
P R :
EOPLE OF THE IVER
A MULTI-AGENCY ETHNOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW AND COMPENDIUM RELATING TO
TRIBES ASSOCIATED WITH CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA

2012

Douglas Deur, Ph.D. and Deborah Confer

LAKE MEAD AND BLACK CANYON
Doc Searls Photo, Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
P S M ,
EOPLE OF NOWY OUNTAIN
P R :
EOPLE OF THE IVER

A MULTI-AGENCY ETHNOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW AND COMPENDIUM
RELATING TO TRIBES ASSOCIATED WITH CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA

2012

Douglas Deur, Ph.D. and Deborah Confer
School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
University of Washington
and
PNW Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
National Park Service, Pacific West Region
Seattle, Washington

Research and report production done under a Cooperative Agreement between the Pacific West
Region, National Park Serice and the School of Environment and Forest Sciences,
University of Washington: Cooperative Agreement No. H8W07060001, and Task Agreement
No. J8W07070004.

Pacific West Region: Social Science Series

Publication Number 2012-01
Frederick F. York, Ph.D.,
Regional Anthrolologist
and
Social Science Series Editor
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1
Study Background and Objectives 5
Methods 10
The Natural Environments of Clark County 16
The Archaeological Context of Clark County (Roberts and Ahlstrom) 25
The Tribes of the Clark County Region at Contact 42
Southern Paiute 44
Southern Paiute Bands 54
Moapa and Shivwits 58
Las Vegas and Pahrump 61
Chmehuevi 70
Mohave 76
Western Shoshone 83
Hualapai and Other Tribes with Colorado River Connections 93
Enduring Traditions: Creation and Salt Song Cycles 99
Nineteenth Century Transitions 105
The Emergence of States and Indian Superintendencies 109
Southern Paiutes of Clark County 113
Mormon Missions 114
Conflicts, Militarization, and the Call for Reservations 120
Reservations and Resistance: Moapa, Las Vegas and Pahrump 126
Southern Paiutes Beyond Clark County 144
The Bands of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah 147
Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians 152
Mohave Transitions 153
Chemehuevi Transitions 161
Western Shoshone Transitions 166
Twentieth Century Influences 179
The Indian Claims Commission 184
Western Shoshone Land Claims 195
The Growing Importance of Urban Indians 205

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Contemporary Tribes: An Overview 209
Clark County Tribes 213
California Tribes 218
Arizona Tribes 233
Utah Tribes 244
New Mexico Tribes 247
Other Nevada Tribes 248
Federally Unrecognized Tribes and Tribal Organizations 255
Potential Traditional Cultural Properties 262
Spring Mountains/Charleston Peak 268
Salt Song Sites and Pathways 270
Colorado River Riparian Corridor 272
Mohave Creation Sites and Revisiting Spirit Mountain 274
Salt Caves and Spirit Caves 275
Red Rock Canyon 277
Resource Procurement Sites 278
Other Settlement Sites 280
Other Ritual Sites 281
Conclusions 283
Bibliography 289
Appendices 370
Appendix A: Legal Mechanisms related to the Establishment
of Indian Reservations in Clark County 371
Appendix B: Treaties with Tribes proximate to Clark County 377
Appendix C: Selected Federal Law, Policy, and Other Legal Instruments
related to Cultural Resources and Tribal Consultation 392
Appendix D: NAGPRA Notices of Inventory Completion in and around
Clark County 398
Appendix E: Select National Register Listed Sites in Clark County 405
Appendix F: Current Contact Information for Tribal Historic
Preservation Offices associated with Clark County, 2012 409
Appendix G: Introductory Sections of the Draft Consultation Template
for Lake Mead NRA 412
Notes 423

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MAPS AND GRAPHS

Map 1: Clark County Federal Lands 6
Map 2: Elevation and Terrain of Southern Nevada 17
Map 3: Ecological Regions of Southern Nevada 21
Map 4: Traditional Tribal Territories in Clark County, Nevada as depicted in
the Handbook of North American Indians 45
Map 5: Southern Paiute Band Territories as shown in the Handbook of North
American Indians and Recent Works by the University of Arizona Bureau
of Applied Research in Anthropology 48
Map 6: Southern Paiute Band Territories as shown in the works of William Palmer 67
Map 7: Alternative Depictions of Western Shoshone Territory 85
Map 8: Alternative Depictions of Western Shoshone Territory in Clark County 92
Map 9: Indian Land Cessions in Southern Nevada and Vicinity (from Royce) 132
Map 10: Indian Land Cessions in Clark County, Nevada (from Royce) 138
Map 11: Modern Western Shoshone Communities and Lands Claimed by
Western Shoshone 177
Map 12: Judicially Established Indian Claims Commission Indian Lands 190
Map 13: Judicially Established ICC Indian Lands in Clark County, Nevada 194
Map 14: Alternative Depictions of Western Shoshone Territory by Tribal
Organizations, 1986-Present 200
Graph 1: Las Vegas Metro Area American Indian & Alaska Native Population
in U.S. Census Records, 1960-2010 206
Map 15: Selected Tribes in the Greater Southern Nevada Region 210
Map 16: Selected Tribes of Clark County, Nevada 214

TABLES

Table 1: Federal Land Ownership in Clark County by Agency 5
Table 2: Chronological Sequence for Southern Nevada Archaeological Sites 27
Table 3: Non-Reservation American Indian & Alaska Native Population of
Clark County and Metro Las Vegas, U.S. Census, 1960-2010 205
Table 4: Distribution of Non-Reservation American Indian & Alaska Native
Population in Clark County, U.S. Census, 2010 207

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Introduction
Clark County, Nevada, has always been a unique place, sitting at a crossroads of varied
cultures and environments. Here, the sprawling Great Basin to the north meets the
rugged Colorado River canyonlands along the county’s eastern margins. At this
intersection, Great Basin peoples – Southern Paiutes especially, but also Western
Shoshones – have long lived in close proximity to river peoples – Mohaves in particular
– while the ethnic diversity of the region ensured that many other tribes – Hualapais
and other Yuman speakers among them – also were present at various times on the
land. Many tribes have viewed landmarks within the area, such as Spirit Mountain, as
sacred but did not frequently venture into Clark County. Others resided almost
entirely in what is today Clark County, or made frequent use of this area for countless
generations. And if this did not suggest a sufficiently complex ethnic map of Clark
County, one needs only to look into the archaeological record and the oral traditions of
area tribes to realize that this map has been changing, with peoples passing through,
and moving from place to place within this southern corner of Nevada for a very long
time indeed.

Today, Clark County encompasses roughly 5.12 million acres of land in the southern
corner of Nevada, of which over 4.6 million acres (or 90 percent) are managed by the
five federal agencies of the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP). This
partnership comprises the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation
(BOR), National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S.
Forest Service (USFS). These agencies are charged with managing the cultural resources
on these lands, and to regularly consult with those tribes who are historically associated
with the lands and resources in their care. A diverse range of federal laws, policies and
regulations prescribe certain levels of consultation; compliance is critical to agency
operations and to the upholding of federal obligations to American Indian tribes. This
is not always an easy task. The agencies that manage lands in Clark County must sort
through the complex history and territorial associations of numerous modern tribes –
some living in Clark County and some living some distance away. This requires
frequent review of the historical and ethnographic record, and direct communication
with the tribes regarding places and resources that are of interest to them. The current
document represents one component of this larger effort.

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The current document has been undertaken to assist agencies in meeting their
obligations for federally mandated compliance and consultation with Indian tribes that
have historical associations with Clark County. The document has been designed in
part to provide an overview of the territorial associations of various tribes with ties to
this area. This is accomplished using ethnohistorical documentation as well key legal
documents, such as treaty language and Indian Claims Commission findings, that
establish parameters for agency consultation responsibilities. Managers of Clark
County’s federal lands have been eager to identify those tribes that are tied to the area
in various ways – from those tribes who have long resided on these lands, to those who
value this place but seldom if ever visit. Cumulatively, this research suggests ties
between particular tribes and particular agency lands that may serve as a background
reference for tribal and agency staff alike as they seek to understand Clark County’s
tribal history and to protect cultural resources of mutual concern.

The current report represents one piece of a singly funded, three-tiered effort supported
by SNAP and its participating agencies, which has involved

1) The National Park Service Pacific-West Region Anthropologist and the UW
Principal Investigator providing technical assistance in the process of
repatriating human remains and associated funerary objects that were
historically excavated from lands along the Colorado River that are now in the
management of the National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation;

2) A multidisciplinary team, led by the UW Principal Investigator, developing the
following ethnographic overview and compendium that identifies historical ties
between particular modern tribes and lands now managed by SNAP agencies in
Clark County, Nevada, to be used as an aid to future tribal consultation efforts
by these agencies; and

3) The National Park Service Pacific-West Regional Anthropologist and the UW PI
collaboratively developing a consultation template to help guide tribal
consultation at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which also may be adapted
and used by other SNAP agencies at their discretion.

At the onset of this research, the research team met with agency staff to ascertain their
needs and interests. They also met with representatives of many of the tribes with
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historical ties to Clark County. The document that follows was developed in response
to those conversations. Researchers were given the task of identifying traditionally
associated tribes and providing some historical context for the understanding of their
traditional uses of federal lands and resources in Clark County – including not only
Southern Paiute tribes, who have profound and enduring ties to this area, but many
other tribes who are tied to the lands and resources within the county as well. The
researchers were asked to provide basic information regarding the organization of area
tribes today, so as to facilitate agencies’ participation in the consultation process. And
the researchers were encouraged to note places of particular cultural and historical
importance mentioned in the course of the research that might warrant further
investigation as potential Traditional Cultural Properties. On the basis of these
findings, the researchers also were asked to develop a template Programmatic
Agreement that would guide future National Park Service consultation with tribes
associated with Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and provide guidance on its
implementation. This template also was to be made available to the other agencies’
staff, who are at liberty to use it as they see fit within their own consultation planning
process. All of these elements are reflected in the document that follows.

Recognizing that SNAP has funded a number of other ambitious cultural resource
studies in recent years, the research team has been cautious to avoid potential overlap
with these efforts. Each of these efforts is meant to provide valuable and distinctive
contributions to the corpus of cultural resource writings addressing Clark County,
which - taken together – will support federal tribal consultation and cultural resource
management for many years to come. These other efforts include an archaeological
overview of Clark County, directed by Heidi Roberts and Dr. Richard Ahlstrom.
Though these two researchers contribute to the current report, providing an
archaeological context statement, it is important to note that this report does not
attempt to grapple with the vast archaeological documentation for the region. Instead,
this report focuses principally on tribal associations with Clark County during the
period from European contact to the present day. These other SNAP sponsored
research efforts include a reworking of the rich fieldnotes of Isabel Kelly by the eminent
cultural anthropologist, Dr. Catherine Fowler. Here too, Kelly’s data is included
throughout the current report, but the research team has made an effort to keep
references to this work general, in anticipation of the Fowler reports. And, SNAP has
supported tribal consultation events and ethnographic interviewing regarding U.S.
Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands through an unrelated project
directed by Dr. Jeremy Spoon. In light of that work, those lands are discussed in only
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general terms in the current document. While tribal representatives’ comments have
informed the current report in many ways, the report sticks principally to the written
record available in published and unpublished ethnographic, historical, and legal
sources. It is our sincere hope that this impressive batch of studies will be of value to
agencies and tribes alike, and that the current report will complement the larger SNAP
effort of which it is a part.

The resulting document is at once an ethnohistory of tribes with ties to Clark County, as
well as a compendium of information relevant to the consultation process – complete
with detailed maps and appendices meant to illuminate the foundations of modern
tribes’ connections to the lands and resources of southern Nevada. We wish the
partnership’s member agencies every success in their efforts to protect the cultural
heritage of southern Nevada with this information at their disposal. We also wish the
tribes every success in documenting and protecting their cultural legacy in southern
Nevada, a task in which we hope these materials will be of some value. These goals are
at the very heart of the current study and reflected in the content of the document that
follows.

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Study Background and Objectives

The Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP) comprises the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), National Park Service (NPS), U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Each agency
manages federal lands in the Clark County area of southern Nevada. SNAP was
formed in 1997 as an interagency partnership to address issues of mutual concern,
including natural and cultural resource protection, recreation, science and research, law
enforcement and the like. The partnership benefits from funds made available through
the implementation of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act that
authorized the sale of certain federal lands within a specific boundary encompassing
Las Vegas, Nevada.

Clark County is located on the southern tip of the State of Nevada. The population
center for Clark County is the Las Vegas Valley, one of the fastest growing urban areas
in the United States. Clark County consists of approximately 5.12 million acres of land.
Of this, about 4.6 million acres (approximately 90 percent) are managed by six federal
agencies, five of which are SNAP partners. The six federal agencies include the SNAP
partner agencies as well as the U.S. Air Force (including Nellis Air Force Base and Nellis
Air Force Range). Of these, the Bureau of Land Management owns by far the largest
amount of land, totaling 2.9 million acres, or roughly 57 percent of Clark County’s land
mass (see Table 1, Map 1).

Table 1: Federal Land Ownership in Clark County, by Agency

Agency Approximate Acreage % of County
BLM 2,900,000 57%
NPS 587,000 12%
USFWS 493,000 9%
USFWS/Nellis AFR 327,000 6%
USFS 252,000 5%
BOR 50,700 <1%
Nellis Air Force Base 13,500 <1%
Total 4,623,200 ~90%
Adapted from Clark County 2008
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