Coming into Compliance: How to Navigate NAGPRA Practice

In the context of museums, repatriation is a form of reparations, in which ancestors and cultural objects that were taken illegally or unethically are returned to their communities of origin. The major legislation on repatriation in the U.S. is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which was originally passed in 1990. Its regulations, however, were most recently updated in January of 2024.

During my research on these new regulations, I realized that there is a lack of resources available to museums that outline how to navigate NAGPRA, so I compiled research from archaeological and legal scholars and interviewed museum professionals to create an introductory course. Its goal is to help U.S.-based museum professionals just getting started with repatriation develop plans for achieving NAGPRA compliance.

Bibliography

American Alliance of Museums. “Sample Documents.” American Alliance of Museums, 7 Feb. 2020, https://www.aam-us.org/sample-documents/.

Angeleti, Gabriella. “US Museums Cover Native American Displays as Revised Federal Regulations Take Effect.” The Art Newspaper, 29 Jan. 2024, https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/01/29/us-museums-nagpra-native-american-displays-new-regulations.

Brown, Michael F., and Margaret M. Bruchac. “NAGPRA from the Middle Distance.” Imperialism, Art and Restitution, edited by John Henry Merryman, 1st ed., Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 193–217.

Despain, Gabrielle. “A Look Into NAGPRA: Application, Issues, and the Future.” Wyoming Law Review, vol. 24, no. 1, Feb. 2024, pp. 139–61. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.59643/1942-9916.1500.

Domeischel, Jenna, and Angela Neller. “Lessons from NAGPRA: Preparing Institutions for an African American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.” Advances in Archaeological Practice, vol. 12, no. 1, Feb. 2024, pp. 13–19. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2023.40.

Jacobs, Julia, and Zachary Small. “Leading Museums Remove Native Displays Amid New Federal Rules.” The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/arts/design/american-museum-of-natural-history-nagpra.html.

Olsen, Riane. Museum Morals: Re-Evaluating the Collection, Exhibition, and Repatriation of Indigenous. 2024. Colorado State University. https://api.mountainscholar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/7773bfb8-08ce-4c5c-923a-43c557baa1af/content.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary. “Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Systematic Processes for Disposition or Repatriation of Native American Human Remains, Funerary Objects, Sacred Objects, and Objects of Cultural Patrimony.” Federal Register, 13 Dec. 2023, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/12/13/2023-27040/native-american-graves-protection-and-repatriation-act-systematic-processes-for-disposition-or.

U.S. National Park Service. “Templates.” U.S. National Park Service – Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 30 Sept. 2024, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/templates.htm.

Yan, Emily. “A Revised NAGPRA: Evaluating Progress Towards Repatriating Native American Ancestral Remains and Belongings in the Wake of Revised Federal Regulations – Center for Art Law.” Center for Art Law, 21 Jan. 2025, https://itsartlaw.org/2025/01/21/a-revised-nagpra-evaluating-progress-towards-repatriating-native-american-ancestral-remains-and-belongings-in-the-wake-of-revised-federal-regulations/.

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