131 LA UR 03 5862 - National Nuclear Security Administration ...

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-341) stipulates that it is Federalpolicy to protect and preserve the right of American Indians to practice their traditional religions. Tribalgroups must receive notification of possible alteration of traditional and sacred places. The Governors of SanIldefonso, Santa Clara, Cochiti, and Jemez Pueblos and the President of the Mescalero Apache Tribe receivedcopies of six reports to identify any traditional cultural properties that a proposed action could affect. CRMTidentified adverse effects to three historic buildings that were decommissioned and decontaminated in 2002.Historic building documentation and interpretation were conducted to resolve the adverse effects.The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-601) states that ifburials or cultural objects are inadvertently disturbed by Federal activities, work must stop in that location for30 days, and the closest lineal descendant must be consulted for disposition of the remains. No discoveries ofburials or cultural objects occurred in FY 2002. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (PublicLaw 96-95) provides protection of cultural resources and sets penalties for their damage or removal fromFederal land without a permit. No violations of this Act were recorded on DOE land in FY 2002.3.9.2 Compliance ActivitiesNake’muu. During FY 2002, as part of the DARHT MAP (LANL 1995), the CRMT continued a longtermmonitoring program at the ancestral pueblo of Nake’muu to assess the impact of LANL missionactivities on cultural resources. Nake’muu is the only pueblo at the Laboratory that still contains its originalstanding walls. It dates from circa A.D. 1200 to 1325 and contains 55 rooms with walls standing up to six feethigh. FY 2002 witnessed the lowest loss rate for chinking stones (0.5%) and masonry blocks (0.2%) duringthe five-year monitoring period. The fact thatthis was an extreme drought year would supportthe contention that natural processes have agreat effect on the deterioration rate of thesite. During the five-year monitoring programNake’muu has experienced a 5.8 percent loss ofchinking stones and 2.7 percent loss of masonryblocks. During FY 2002 the post-Cerro GrandeFire Pueblo Site Condition Assessment Teamalso visited Nake’muu. Trees that couldpotentially fall and damage the standing wallarchitecture were marked for future removalduring 2003.Members of the San Ildefonso Pueblo visiting the Nake’ muu ruinsSWEIS Yearbook—2002 3-35