Description

This report outlines the legal requirements for consulting with American Indian groups and identifying their traditional cultural values that could be impacted during site characterization activities associated with the high level nuclear waste disposal facility project at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. More specifically the report discusses culturally relevant methods for (a) identifying persons knowledgeable about traditional cultural resources associated with properties or sites where project site characterization activities may occur and that have value to contemporary American Indian groups, and (b) implementing consultation procedures with concerned Indian peoples as required by federal policy. The report is divided into three chapters. Chapter One discusses the two federal policies most relevant to the identification of American Indian traditional cultural values and specifies which American Indian groups should be consulted during site characterization. Chapter Two provides a Native American perspective on traditional cultural values and identifies the types of values that are most likely to be of concern to Indian people and be located in the Yucca Mountain study area. Chapter Three presents a plan for identifying traditional cultural values and for consulting with the relevant Indian groups.