National NAGPRA Training Home

NAGPRA Training Videos
NAGPRA Basics Training
NAGPRA Webinars
Additional NAGPRA Trainings

Below is a list of training opportunities available through the National NAGPRA Program or its partners.

NAGPRA Training Videos
The NAGPRA Video Project began in October 2008 with the mission to create a training series that would include grant-writing tips, first-person narratives, program statistics, anecdotal evidence, and in-depth, engaging coverage of the entirety of the law and its consequences. The National NAGPRA Program has conducted fifty interviews in ten cities across the country. These interviews with tribal members, museum officials and Federal agency representatives have created a historic archive of resources on consultation, grants, notices, law making, dispositions, documentation and repatriation.

Production on the NAGPRA Video series is complete. Some of the videos have been shown to the Review Committee. The segment “History of NAGPRA” premiered during the NAGPRA at 20 Symposium. The entire eight-segment series is now available to the public on demand, through the National NAGPRA Program’s Official YouTube Channel. Click on any of the titles listed below to access our on-demand videos:

NAGPRA Notices
This video provides an overview of NAGPRA Notices. A NAGPRA Notice is a printed announcement of a Federal agency or museum's decision on Native American human remains and cultural items. A NAGPRA Notice either establishes the rights of tribes to request human remains or reflects the agreement to transfer control of Native American cultural items. Two types of Notices will be discussed, Notices of Inventory Completion and Notices of Intent to Repatriation cultural items, and review what information each type of notice should contain. Also, this segment will go through the publication of a NAGPRA notice. NAGPRA was created to address the rights of lineal descendants, Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to Native American human remains and cultural items.

NAGPRA Grants
The video will review the NAGPRA Grants Program, discuss two types of grants offered, and review grant supported activities. Hear from successful grant applicants and NAGPRA Grants panelists on how to strengthen your application, and get tips for strengthening your grant application. The grant review process will be described as well. The heart of the NAGPRA process is the relationship building that occurs between museums and tribes. Through NAGPRA, tribes, museums, and federal agencies can come together to better understand and care for Native American collections. NAGPRA also provides a way to return Native American human remains and cultural items that protect the integrity of museums, federal agencies, and tribes and insures that human remains and cultural items are returned in culturally and spiritually appropriate ways. The NAGPRA Grants program exists to support these efforts.

Consultation under NAGPRA
The goal of this video is to explain how the term "consultation" is defined under NAGPRA, review NAGPRA's requirements for consultation, and provide you with guidelines and suggestions toward successful consultation. By the end of the video, we hope to have explained why consultation is such a critical component of NAGPRA, what to expect from consultation, when to schedule a consultation, and how to make the most of consultation.

Decision-making under NAGPRA
This video will explain what evidence is used to determine cultural affiliation by a museum or federal agency under NAGPRA, discuss how a decision is reached, and review what occurs when there is a dispute over a finding. Federal agencies and museums must comply with NAGPRA if they have possession or control over native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. For purposes of NAGPRA, federal agencies do not include the Smithsonian Institution. Museums under NAGPRA are any institution or State or local government agency (including any institution of higher learning) that receives Federal funds and has possession of, or control over, Native American cultural items.

NAGPRA Civil Penalties
NAGPRA Civil Penalties narrated by Bob Palmer, NAGPRA Civil Penalties Investigator. This video will take you through the NAGPRA civil penalty investigative process. Discuss ways in which a museum can fail to comply with the Act, how to file an allegation against a museum, the museum's rights in a proceeding, and what's involved in the civil penalty stage of the process.

NAGPRA Review Committee
The Review Committee was created by Congress to advise both the Secretary of the Interior and Congress on the implementation of NAGPRA. In this video, you will hear from past and present Review Committee members about membership and responsibilities, watch an actual dispute before a Review Committee, along with the Committee's deliberation, findings of fact, and recommendations, and listen to members' personal perspectives on working relationships, consensus, and emerging issues in NAGPRA. By the end of the video, you will understand the role the Review Committee plays in NAGPRA and the ways the Review Committee can help you in the NAGPRA compliance process.

The Development of NAGPRA
This DVD explores the significant events that led to the passage of NAGPRA, and highlights NAGPRA's significance for Native Americans, museums and the scientific community today.

NAGPRA
NAGPRA in a nutshell. Short Takes: A composite of interviews with NAGPRA constituents.

NAGPRA Basics Training
The National NAGPRA Program has generally sponsored an in-person NAGPRA Basics training on the day preceding a NAGPRA Review Committee meeting. NAGPRA Basics training covers the background of NAGPRA, the consultation and decision making process, notices, grants, and civil penalties. Both new and veteran NAGPRA practitioners have found this training to be helpful in their work. NAGPRA Basics is tuition-free, but participants must fund their own travel and incidental expenses, as no grants are available to attend this training. For additional information, contact David Tarler at 202-354-2108 or NAGPRA_info@nps.gov.

In addition, NAGPRA Program staff members might be available to provide customized on-site training. For more information, contact David Tarler at 202-354-2108 or email NAGPRA_info@nps.gov.

NAGPRA Webinars
The National NAGPRA Program is offering a series of webinars on various topics related to the implementation of NAGPRA. The webinars are free, and we encourage you to register early. For those who have not participated in a webinar, you will need a computer with internet access and a phone (preferably a speaker phone with muting capabilities – no cell phones, please). You will be taken through a written presentation on your computer and be able to hear, ask questions and participate in the discussion over the phone. Essentially, you will receive a full training without leaving your desk. Plus, you can have as many people gather around your phone and computer as you like. For those without computer access, you may register for a webinar and access the session by phone only, using a paper copy or electronic copy of the materials to follow the written presentation. Please advise us when you register if you will need a copy of the materials in order to follow the written presentation.

Webinar Registration
To register, click on the event registration link under each webinar description. Once registered, you will receive an email response with information for accessing the webinar through Microsoft Office Live Meeting. Instructions for joining the meeting and support for technical assistance will be in your registration email. Please save the email you receive after registering. If you need technical assistance with registration, please email nagpra@rap.midco.net. Include the name and date of the webinar in the subject line.

Note: Please add nagpra@rap.midco.net to your Contacts list so future emails do not get filtered out by the spam filters.

Tip: To run Microsoft Office Live Meeting through Use Web Console, it requires a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to be installed and running. Your computer must meet the minimum requirements listed here.

NAGPRA Notices: Types, Process & Content
Thursday, March 7, 2013, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EST
In this webinar, NAGPRA notices, including Notices of Inventory Completion (and the similarities and differences between culturally affiliated and culturally unidentifiable notices) and Notices of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items, will be explained in detail. In addition, Notices of Intended Disposition, Summaries and Inventories will be briefly discussed. New notice templates will be explored, and will be available for downloading during the presentation. This webinar is designed for Federal agency and museum staff working on NAGPRA compliance issues, and NAGPRA practitioners interested in better understanding the notice process. In order to ensure that this forum thoughtfully considers your queries, please include your questions along with your registration.
Presenter: Melanie O'Brien, Notice Coordinator, National NAGPRA Program

Prior to attending this webinar, we highly recommend that you view the "NAGPRA Notices" segment of the NAGPRA Training Videos. The entire video series is posted on the National NAGPRA YouTube Channel, and is available on demand.

Determining Aboriginal Lands under NAGPRA
Tuesday, April 2, 2013, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT
Under NAGPRA, museums and Federal agency officials must consult with Indian tribes from whose aboriginal land human remains and other cultural items were removed. With respect to discoveries on Federal lands after November 16, 1990, aboriginal occupation may be recognized by a final judgment of the Indian Claims Commission or the United States Court of Claims. With respect to holdings or collections, aboriginal occupation may be recognized by a final judgment of the Indian Claims Commission or the United States Court of Claims or, in addition, by a treaty, Act of Congress, or Executive Order. This webinar will demonstrate how to go about identifying "aboriginal land" tribes under NAGPRA. In order to ensure that this forum thoughtfully considers your queries, please include your questions along with your registration.
Presenters: Melanie O'Brien, Notice Coordinator, National NAGPRA Program; Stephen Simpson, Senior Attorney, Office of the Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior; and Karen Wurzburger, Cultural Anthropologist, Office of Indian Affairs and American Culture, Intermountain Region, National Park Service

Ask Your NAGPRA Questions: An Open Forum
Thursday, May 2, 2013, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT
Do you have a specific question you would like to ask National NAGPRA Program staff or legal counsel? Do you seek clarification of a particular NAGPRA issue? This webinar provides you with an opportunity to hear about any new developments in the National NAGPRA Program, and to have your questions or concerns addressed. In order to ensure that this forum thoughtfully considers your queries, please include your questions along with your registration.

Navigating the Intersection between NAGPRA and Section 106
Thursday, June 13, 2013, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT
Since November 16, 1990, whenever a project carried out, approved, or funded by a Federal agency is to occur on Federal land or tribal land, both Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470f) and Section 3 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3002) are implicated. Under NHPA Section 106, if the project has the potential to affect historic properties on tribal land, or historic properties of significance to one or more Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations on Federal land, then prior to beginning the project, the Federal agency must consult with officials of the appropriate Native Hawaiian organization(s) or federally recognized Indian tribe(s) on measures to avoid or reduce harm to the historic properties in the area of potential effect. As compliance with Section 106 (NHPA) does not satisfy the requirements of Section 3 (NAGPRA), and vice versa, successful completion of Section 106 review is no guarantee that the project may proceed uninterrupted, for Section 3 of NAGPRA will temporarily halt the project if Native American human remains or other cultural items are discovered and no plan is in place that addresses their excavation or removal, and disposition. Thus, preplanning under both NAGPRA and NHPA saves time once a project begins. Recently, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the National Park Service have decided to jointly issue an instruction that provides an overview of the intersection of these separate cultural heritage requirements in the law and clarifies how Federal agencies can achieve compliance with both sets of requirements while, at the same time, maximizing efficiencies in consultation. In this webinar, the presenters will briefly review NHPA Section 106 and NAGPRA Section 3 responsibilities, present the joint NPS-ACHP instruction on the intersection of NAGPRA and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and offer ideas about how preplanning under both statutes might be accomplished. In order to ensure that this forum thoughtfully considers your queries, please include your questions along with your registration.
Presenters: Jeffrey Durbin, Section 106 Compliance Program Officer, Washington Office, National Park Service; Valerie Hauser, Director, Office of Native American Affairs, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; Sherry Hutt, Manager, National NAGPRA Program; and Reid Nelson, Director, Office of Federal Agency Programs, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Missed a Webinar? Beginning July 2012, some webinars will be available for viewing on demand. Recorded live, these 60 to 90 minute presentations allow viewers to experience the original sessions.

Additional NAGPRA Trainings

National Preservation Institute
The National NAGPRA Program has partnered with the National Preservation Institute (NPI) to offer in-depth training on various issues related to NAGPRA implementation. Open to Federal agencies, museums, Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and others interested in NAGPRA, these trainings are designed to provide participants with practical knowledge and tools needed to support their NAGPRA efforts.

Seminars
Below are the National NAGPRA-NPI partnership trainings that are available through NPI as customized, on-site training.

NAGPRA: Databases, Summaries, Inventories, and Notices
Review the summaries and inventories requirements for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Each Federal agency and museum with control over Native American human remains and cultural items must complete and submit a Summary and/or Inventory to Indian tribes/Native Hawaiian organizations and the National NAGPRA Program. These documents are the basis for writing a Federal Register notice, allowing for repatriation or other disposition. Discuss NAGPRA requirements and ongoing responsibilities under the Future Applicability rule (43 CFR 10.13) for Summaries and Inventories. Compliance documentation (inventories and summary information) is available in the form of online databases created by the National NAGPRA Program. Using these databases, learn how to identify Indian tribes for consultations, evaluate the data supplied by museums and Federal agencies, and explore ways the data can be utilized to further NAGPRA compliance.

NAGPRA: Determining Cultural Affiliation
Review the tools and best practices for determining cultural affiliation as part of the requirements of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Each Federal agency and museum with control over Native American human remains must identify cultural affiliation if it can do so on the basis of reasonable belief. Discuss NAGPRA requirements, definitions of critical terminology, grant assistance, and the consultation and review process.

The National NAGPRA Program offers grants to assist museums, Indian tribes and Native Hawaian organizations with the implementation of NAGPRA. The NAGPRA process may include consultation, documentation, and repatriation or other disposition of human remains and cultural items. Learn how to assess the needs of a NAGPRA program, identify fundable projects, and write and manage a successful grant. Review case studies of grant applications and projects.

Additional Seminars Offered Through NPI
In addition to the above listed seminars, the National Preservation Institute offers a variety of ongoing trainings that support NAGPRA compliance. Detailed seminar descriptions, agendas, and registration information are located on the National Preservation Institute’s website.

Section 106: An Introduction
April 9-11, 2013 Atlanta, GA
April 30 - May 2, 2013 Lansing, WI
May 7-9, 2013 San Francisco, CA
September 23, 2013 Denver, CO
November 6-8, 2013 Madison, WI
December 10-12, 2013 Baton Rouge, LA

Section 106: Agreement Documents
February 20-22, 2013 Austin, TX
March 18-20, 2013 Sacramento, CA
May 14-16, 2013 Indianapolis, IN
October 21-23, 2013 Phoenix, AZ
November 12-14, 2013 Tallahassee, FL

Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Tools for Cultural and Natural Resource Projects
February 20-22, 2013 Los Angeles, CA

Consultation and Protection of Native American Sacred Lands
March 21-22, 2013 Sacramento, CA

Section 106: A Review for Experienced Practioners
March 5-6, 2013 Seattle, WA
April 3-4, 2013 Santa Fe, NM
December 4-5, 2013 Mount Vernon, VA

Identification and Management of Traditional Cultural Places
October 8-9, 2013 San Francisco, CA
October 24-25, 2013 Phoenix, AZ