- What does NAGPRA require and what entities have to comply with NAGPRA?
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (Pub.L. 101-601; 25 U.S.C. 3001-3013;104 Stat. 3048-3058) was passed by Congress on November 16, 1990. NAGPRA is a monumental human rights legislation that facilitates the respectful disposition and repatriation of Native American cultural items and human remains to federally recognized Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Entities that must comply with NAGPRA include federal agencies and local governments, as well as museums, universities, and any other institutions which receive federal funding. The Smithsonian Institution is not subject to NAGPRA, but repatriates under the National Museum of the American Indian Act of 1989, 20 U.S.C. 80q.
- How is IU handling its NAGPRA obligations?
Since the IU NAGPRA Office was founded in 2013, IU NAGPRA has worked diligently to maintain federal compliance regarding NAGPRA legislation. Aside from the return of ancestral remains and collections, consultation with tribal partners is integral in successfully carrying out IU’s NAGPRA obligations. IU has fostered relationships with federally recognized Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to carry out repatriation. IU NAGPRA has six full-time staff members working to carry out its obligations in a respectful and efficient manner.
- What items fall under the purview of NAGPRA?
As defined in NAGPRA [25 USC 3001 (3)], items that fall under the purview of NAGPRA include the physical remains of a Native American, funerary objects intentionally placed with or near the human remains during a burial practice or ceremony, sacred objects that are currently used in Native American religions, and items of cultural patrimony which are owned by a group and hold special importance to that group.
- What is the distinction between culturally affiliated versus culturally unaffiliated?
Cultural affiliation is the relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced historically or prehistorically between a present-day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization and an identifiable earlier group. [25 USC 3001 (2)]. This relationship may be traced based on geographical, kinship, biological, archeological, linguistic, folklore, oral tradition, historical evidence, or other information or expert opinion [43 CFR 10.2 (e)]. All lines of evidence are not needed to determine cultural affiliation. According to NAGPRA [43 CFR 10.9 (d)(2)], culturally unaffiliated items are cultural items in which no culturally affiliated present-day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization can be determined. Cultural affiliation and culturally unaffiliated is determined through ongoing and collaborative consultation with Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations. Even in the relatively rare instances where ancestral remains and artifacts possessed by Indiana University are designated as culturally unidentifiable, these remains and objects will ultimately be repatriated in accordance with the law.
- What is the distinction between associated funerary objects versus unassociated funerary objects?
Associated funerary objects are objects that, as part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, are believed to have been placed with individual human remains either at the time of death or later, and both the human remains and associated funerary objects are presently in the possession or control of a museum or Federal agency [25 USC 3001 (3)(A)]. Associated funerary objects and the individual’s remains do not need to be housed together within collections for the objects to be considered an associated funerary object. Unassociated funerary objects are funerary objects for which the human remains with which they were placed intentionally are not in the possession or control of a museum or Federal agency [25 USC 3001 (3)(B)], [43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2)(ii)]. An example of this would be if an object was removed but the individual’s remains were left in the ground.
- What does repatriation mean, and how is it carried out?
In NAGPRA (25 USC 3005 and 43 CFR 10.10), the term repatriation means return of possession or control of Native American cultural items to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations. A modern Native group does not have to have physical possession of human remains or objects for repatriation to occur. However, IU NAGPRA’s primary goal is the physical repatriation of Native ancestors and objects back to descendent communities for reburial. Repatriation is successfully carried out through relationship building with our respective tribal partners. This process includes meaningful consultation and open discussions with tribal partners and often extends beyond the letter of the law to involve important religious and cultural considerations when determining affiliation and moving forward in the repatriation process. The repatriation of objects or human remains can take months or years to complete. IU NAGPRA’s repatriation timeline is dictated by the descendent community’s wishes.
- Where did the NAGPRA human remains and items at IU originate from?
IU’s NAGPRA collections primarily originated from archaeological sites in Indiana and Illinois. However, there are human remains and objects that were brought to IU via donation or from archaeological excavations across the country. Most of these excavations and anthropological research projects occurred in the 1930’s through 1980’s.