Huerfano County, Colorado
Native American Remains



Contributed by Karen Mitchell
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Native American Remains
[Federal Register: November 6, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 215)]
[Notices]
[Page 66556-66557]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
(Excerpt)

Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology, Denver, CO

Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects.

A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology professional staff. Representatives of all Tribes concerned were notified.

In 1932, human remains representing one individual were recovered from a site near La Veta, Huerfano County, CO, by Dr. E.B. Renaud of the University of Denver Department of Anthropology, and his assistant, Charlie Steen. No known individuals were identified. No funerary objects are present.

Dr. Renaud was taken to the remains by Karl Gilbert of the U.S. Forest Service. Dr. Renaud collected the long bones of the skeleton and reported, but did not collect, numerous glass beads associated with the remains. At the U.S. Forest Service office in La Veta, CO, Dr. Renaud examined the skull of the remains and a series of associated funerary objects that had been collected by John Durant in the winter of 1931- 32. These funerary objects included one Barrett flintlock gun dated 1848, three metal arrow points, one saddle buckle, five saddle rings, one piece of copper, one spoon, and one stone pipe. Dr. Renaud was given the skull, which he took along with the long bones to the University of Denver. Currently, the university is in possession of eight long bones. The skull has not been located.

The date on the gun previously associated with the remains demonstrates that this individual died in the mid to late 19th century. At that time, south central Colorado, including Huerfano County, was the territory of the Eastern Bands of the Ute. This geographic association is confirmed by the oral testimony given in consultation, and is supported by ethnographical and historical evidence. Dr. Renaud's notes include a 1932 interview with Mr. I. Blasquez, a resident of La Veta since 1863, who also confirmed that the Ute lived in the La Veta area in the mid-19th century.

Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry. Also, officials of the University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(e), there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between these Native American human remains and the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah; the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah; and the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

Repatriation of the human remains to the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah; the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah; and the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah may begin after December 6, 2000 if no additional claimants come forward.




© Karen Mitchell