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National NAGPRA Program Releases Report on
Culturally Affiliated Native American Human Remains Not Published In Notices

Washington , DC – The National Park Service (NPS) recently announced the release of a new report by the Native American Grave Repatriation Act Program (NAGPRA) entitled “Culturally Affiliated Native American Human Remains Not Published In Notices”. The report was compiled by Katherine Maas, a National NAGPRA Program Intern and graduate student in the George Washington University, Museum Studies Program.

National Park Service Director, Mary A. Bomar commented that, “We are pleased with the scholarship evident in the report and the cooperation of the George Washington University, Museum Studies Program, which made this internship possible at no cost to NPS.”

This report, which is available at www.nps.gov/history/NAGPRA, is intended to illuminate the circumstances surrounding a population of Native American human remains in museum and Federal agency collections across the United States that are still separated from their people. The remains of the 1,095 individuals discussed in this report have been culturally affiliated, but have not yet been published in notices of inventory completion, the critical step in the process of repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Through this report, the National NAGPRA Program hopes to encourage a satisfactory resolution in the cases of these 1,095 individuals, and to create a format for future National NAGPRA Program reports on the status of additional Native American human remains in institutional collections.

The National NAGPRA Program will continue to review inventory submissions in order to establish a more accurate figure. Development of a public access database of culturally affiliated individuals, listed in inventories of museums and federal agencies is in the works.

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The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a Federal law passed in 1990. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony - to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.

The National NAGPRA program assists the Secretary of the Interior with some of the Secretary's responsibilities under NAGPRA, and focuses on NAGPRA implementation outside of the National Park System.

Among its chief activities, National NAGPRA develops regulations and guidance for implementing NAGPRA; provides administrative and staff support for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Commitee; assists Indian tribes, Native Alaskan villages and corporations, Native Hawaiian organizations, museums, and Federal agencies with the NAGPRA process; maintains the Native American Consultation Database (NACD) and other online databases; provides training; manages a grants program; and makes program documents and publications available on the Web, including the two new NAGPRA brochures.

What's New?

The next NAGPRA Review Committee meeting is scheduled for May 23-24, 2009, in Seattle, Washington, at the Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue, 1415 Fifth Avenue. Requests to make a presentation to the Committee, to have the Committee act on a CUI disposition agreement, or to have the Committee facilitate a dispute resolution must be received by the Designated Federal Officer on or before February 23, 2009.

Solicitation of Nominations for Review Committee Members due on February 27, 2009. TXT

May 22, 2008: NAGPRA Training coming to Seattle, WA.

NAGPRA Report: “Culturally Affiliated Native American Human Remains Not Published In Notices”

The online Culturally Unidentifiable Native American Inventories Database updated December 2008 .

FY2008 National NAGPRA Final Year report

FY2009 Grant Application Guidelines and Forms, draft proposals (optional) due December 31, 2008, also information for managing your grants.

REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES -
May 15-16, 2008 De Pere, WI

Grants Outreach Project, featuring sample grant proposals, online now.

Future Applicability FINAL RULE PDF or Text

Proposed Rule for Disposition of Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains, 43 CFR 10.11, View Comments

NACD has moved! Remember to change your bookmarks.

NAGPRA Grants to Tribes and Museums (PDF), an online brochure.

Two consultation resources:
Cultural affiliation and geographic data from published notices, and
Indian Land Cessions 1784-1894 by State and County.

Guidance on alleging that a museum has failed to comply with NAGPRA.

Letter to Potentially Aggrieved Parties Alleging a Museum has failed to comply with the requirements of NAGPRA

The online Culturally Unidentifiable Native American Inventories Database has a Map that shows provenience of human remains.