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Resources for Museums


NAGPRA requires museums that receive Federal funds to complete inventories and summaries of Native American cultural items in their collections, publish notices in the Federal Register, and repatriate Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.

Learn More About NAGPRA
Working with Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations
Working with Federal Agencies
Working with the National NAGPRA Program
Additional Resources and Professional Associations


Learn More About NAGPRA

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and its implementing regulations contain many specialized terms and requirements, and apply to United States museums and Federal agencies.


Working with Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations

NAGPRA requires museums to consult with Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations in completing inventories and summaries of Native American cultural items in their collections, and to repatriate Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony as appropriate.

  • Native American Consultation Database provides an easy way to identify a current official contact for Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages and corporations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
  • Map of Indian Reservations in the continental United States.
  • Map of Judicially Established Indian Lands based on decisions of the Indian Claims Commission.
  • Grants are available for museums to consult with tribes in the NAGPRA collections inventory and identification process, and to assist with repatriation costs.
  • Notices of Inventory Completion are published by museums and document their determinations regarding the cultural affiliation of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects.
  • Notices of Intent to Repatriate are published by museums and document their determinations regarding the cultural affiliation and identification of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
  • Contaminated Collections. Museums are required to notify the recipients of repatriations of any presently known treatments used on cultural items.


Working with Federal Agencies

Many museum collections originate from Federal lands. Generally, Federal agencies retain control of collections from their lands, even if the collections are cared for in a museum. The Federal agency also has NAGPRA responsibility for such collections. In cases where collections from Federal lands are cared for by a museum, the museum is said to have "physical custody" of the collection, while the Federal agency has "control."


Working with the National NAGPRA Program

In addition to providing technical assistance, the National NAGPRA program publishes Federal Register notices on behalf of museums and agencies, administers the NAGPRA grants program, maintains the Native American Consultation Database, and provides staff support to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee.

  • Notices. National NAGPRA provides templates to be used in preparing draft Federal Register Notices.
  • Grants. National NAGPRA administers the NAGPRA grants program, and can provide assistance during the proposal writing process.
  • Review Committee. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee facilitates the resolution of repatriation disputes and considers requests for the disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. National NAGPRA provides staff support to the Review Committee.
  • Contact National NAGPRA.


Additional Resources and Professional Associations

A variety of information related to NAGPRA, museum practice, and cultural resource preservation is available.

 
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