Notices
About NAGPRA Notices
As part of the NAGPRA compliance process, the National NAGPRA Program assists museums and Federal agencies in publishing Notices of Inventory Completion and Notices of Intent to Repatriate in the Federal Register. Below is an explanation of the Federal Register notice process, templates for different kinds of notices, and a link to the published notices databases. The National NAGPRA Program also provides a template and database of all Notices of Intended Disposition published in newspapers by Federal agencies.
A Notice of Inventory Completion follows the listing of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects, in the possession or control of a museum or Federal agency, in an inventory submitted to the National NAGPRA Program, and is published:
- when a museum or Federal agency has made a determination of cultural affiliation.
- when a museum or Federal agency has culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains in its possession or control that were removed from tribal or aboriginal land.
- when a museum or Federal agency has culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains in its possession or control and transfers them with approval from the Secretary.
A Notice of Intent to Repatriate is published when a museum or Federal agency, in consultation with tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations (NHOs), receives, reviews, and accepts a claim for sacred objects, unassociated funerary objects, or objects of cultural patrimony listed or generally described in a summary.
A Notice of Intended Disposition is published by Federal agencies in local newspapers for Native American human remains and cultural items excavated or removed from Federal or tribal lands after November 16, 1990. The responsible Federal agency official must send copies of published notices to the National NAGPRA Program.
Notice Process
To be in compliance with the law, museums and Federal agencies must consult with tribes or NHOs in the process of completing the inventories, and submit notices for publication in the Federal Register for the human remains listed as culturally affiliated, and for the culturally unidentifiable human remains from tribal or aboriginal land. Actions requiring approval of the Secretary are recommended but not required. The notice of intent to repatriate is the decision to repatriate based upon the claim for cultural items in the summary. Submission of notices by museums or agencies to the National NAGPRA Program starts the publication process.
The initial submission is considered a draft. After a museum or agency submits the draft notice, a receipt of confirmation with a temporary tracking ID number is sent to the museum/agency. The draft notice is compared to inventory or summary records of the submitting museum/agency. The draft notice is reviewed to ensure it meets the Government Printing Office Style Manual and conforms to the most recent template (last updated March 2013). Clarification or questions will be sent to the museum/agency. Once the draft has completed the comparison and review, it is then sent to the museum/agency for final approval. Without this final approval of the draft by a museum/agency, the notice is not submitted for Federal Register publication, and the museum/agency has not completed the notice process. Once approved by the museum/agency, the notice is submitted to the Department of the Interior for clearance to publish in the Federal Register. The National NAGPRA Program tracks the notice from submission to publication and notifies the museum or Federal agency of publication. Notices are then posted chronologically on the National NAGPRA Program website.
Notice
Templates
Notice templates are available in MS Word format, and may be downloaded for use in preparing draft Federal Register notices. Draft notices should be sent as an e-mail attachment to WASO_NAGPRA_Notices@nps.gov. A return receipt email will directly follow the submission; if you do not receive a return receipt email, please contact us via phone at 202-354-2201. The responsible Federal agency official must send copies of published Notices of Intended Disposition to the National NAGPRA program via the email (WASO_NAGPRA_Notices@nps.gov).
Notice of Inventory Completion Template for culturally affiliated inventories of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects. updated 3/1/2013
Notice of Inventory Completion Template for culturally unidentifiable inventories (CUI) of Native American human remains from tribal or aboriginal land to tribal/aboriginal land Indian tribes, 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1) updated 3/1/2013
Notice of Inventory Completion Template for culturally unidentifiable inventories (CUI) Native American human remains from tribal or aboriginal land to Indian tribes that are not the tribal or aboriginal land Indian tribe, 43 CFR 10.11(c)(2)(i) updated 3/1/2013
Notice of Inventory Completion Template for culturally unidentifiable inventories (CUI) of Native American human remains from tribal or aboriginal land with the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior to disposition to Indian groups that are non-federally recognized or for reinterment under state law, 43 CFR 10.11(c)(2)(ii). (See here for more information on the process) updated 3/1/2013
Notice of Intent to Repatriate Template for culturally affiliated unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony. updated 3/1/2013
Correction
Template
for Notices of Inventory Completion (used to correct a previously published notice) updated 3/1/2013
Correction Template for Notices of Intent to Repatriate (used to correct a previously published notice) updated 3/1/2013
Notice of Intended Disposition Template for Native American human remains and cultural items removed from Federal or tribal land after November 16, 1990.
Notice of Proposed Transfer or Reinterment of Unclaimed Cultural Items Template (43 CFR 10.2(h)(2)(i))
Notice of Proposed Transfer or Reinterment of Unclaimed Cultural Items Template (43 CFR 10.2(h)(2)(ii))
Many of the terms that are used in notices have specialized meanings under NAGPRA. See the NAGPRA Glossary for terms.
Published
Notices
The text of published
Federal Register notices may be viewed in either HTML or PDF formats.
Select from:
A database of published Notices of Intended Disposition may be viewed by agency or by state/area.
For more information
regarding notices and the NAGPRA compliance process, see Law
and Regulations.
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