N ative

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N ative A merican G raves P rotection R
epatriation A ct
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Definitions

• Jurisdiction Who must comply?
• Standing Who may claim?
• Purview What objects are covered?
• Process What activities are required?

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Jurisdiction Who must comply?

• Federal agencies
• Museums

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Federal agency

• Any department, agency, or instrumentality of the
  United States.
• Such term does not include the Smithsonian
  Institution.

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Museum

• 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.

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Standing Who may claim?

• Lineal descendant
• Indian tribe
• Native Hawaiian organization

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Purview What objects are covered?

• Native American
• Human remains
• Funerary objects
• Sacred objects
• Objects of cultural patrimony

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Cultural Patrimony

• An object having ongoing historical, traditional,
  or cultural importance central to the Native
  American group or culture itself, rather than
  property owned by an individual Native American,
  an which, therefore, cannot be alienated,
  appropriated, or conveyed by any individual
  regardless of whether or not the individual is a
  member of the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian
  organization and such item shall have been
  considered inalienable by such Native American
  group at the time the object was separated from
  such group.

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Consultation A process involving the open
discussion and joint deliberations with respect
to potential issues, changes, or actions by all
interested parties. House Report 101-877
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Native American Consultation Database The
Native American Consultation Database (NACD) is a
tool for identifying consultation contacts for
Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages and
corporations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
The database is not a comprehensive source of
information, but it does provide a starting point
for the consultation process by identifying
tribal leaders and NAGPRA contacts.
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Cultural Affiliation A 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.
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Museum and Federal Agency Collections
Summaries Inventories Repatriation
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Summaries
Scope of collections that may include
unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects,
and objects of cultural patrimony Due November
16, 1993
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Summaries
Summaries have been completed by 1762 museums and
Federal agencies 328 Notices of Intent to
Repatriate have been published, accounting
for - 93, 220 unassociated funerary objects -
3,341 sacred objects - 278 objects of cultural
patrimony - 707 sacred objects/objects of
cultural patrimony
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Inventories
Simple itemized list of Native American human
remains and associated funerary
objects Completed in consultation with tribal
officials and traditional religious leaders Due
November 16, 1995, or later if given an extension
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Inventories
Inventories have been completed by 1138 museums
and Federal agencies 895 Notices of Inventory
Completion have been published, accounting
for - Remains of 31,836 individuals - 643,388
associated funerary objects
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STANDARD OF REPATRIATION -- If a known lineal
descendant or an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization requests the return of Native
American unassociated funerary objects, sacred
objects, or objects of cultural patrimony
pursuant to this Act and presents evidence which,
if standing alone before the introduction of
evidence to the contrary, would support a finding
that the Federal agency or museum did not have
the right of possession, then such agency or
museum shall return such object unless it can
overcome such inference and prove that it has a
right of possession to the objects
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Notice Types
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Culturally Unidentifiable Native American
Inventories Database
The Culturally Unidentifiable Native American
Inventories Database is a compilation of data
from museums and Federal agencies from various
geographic areas of the United States. Each
record contains the name of the museum or Federal
agency in possession or control of the human
remains the state, county, and site, if known,
from which the human remains were removed the
collection identification number if given the
minimum number of individuals (MNI) and the
number of associated funerary objects (AFO). The
remarks section also includes brief collection
histories, available age and culture or early
group information, and a list of funerary
objects, if present.
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Culturally Unidentifiable

• Human remains of 111,352 individuals and 852,660
  associated funerary objects have been identified
  as culturally unidentifiable

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• NAGPRA Grants
• NAGPRA grants are awarded to Indian tribes,
  Alaska Native villages and corporations, Native
  Hawaiian organizations, and museums for financial
  assistance in carrying out projects associated
  with NAGPRA compliance.
• NAGPRA grants assist with the documentation and
  repatriation of Native American cultural items.

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Consultation/Documentation Awards

• Annual awards of up to 75,000 for projects such
  as
• Consultation and documentation to update
  previously completed summaries or inventories.
• Consultations regarding the disposition of
  culturally unidentifiable Native American human
  remains and associated funerary objects.
• Collaborative consultations regarding the
  cultural affiliation and repatriation of Federal
  collections.
• Expanding NAGPRA consultation through
  innovative technological applications.

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Consultation/Documentation Awards

• Regional meetings to discuss the disposition
  of culturally unidentifiable Native American
  human remains and associated funerary objects
• Staff training in the fundamentals of NAGPRA and
  in techniques for documenting the cultural
  affiliation and/or treatment history of cultural
  items
• Document the condition and treatment history
  of cultural items to be repatriated in order to
  mitigate potential health risks.

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Repatriation Awards Awards of up to 15,000
will be granted to complete the transfer of
possession of Native American cultural items from
museums and Federal agencies to lineal
descendants, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian
organizations as part of the repatriation
process.
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Appropriate costs may include

• Travel by lineal descendants, traditional
  religious leaders, tribal officials, Native
  Hawaiian officials and museum officials to
  prepare and/or accompany cultural items to the
  lineal descendant, Indian tribe, or Native
  Hawaiian organization
• Transportation of cultural items to the lineal
  descendant, Indian tribe, or Native Hawaiian
  organization

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Appropriate costs may include

• Documenting the condition and treatment history
  of cultural items to be repatriated in order to
  mitigate potential health risks and where
  possible mitigating health risks
• Construction of appropriate containers for the
  transport and disposition of repatriated cultural
  items.

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Repatriation grants will be awarded only after

• Publication of the required Notice of
  Inventory Completion or Notice of Intent to
  Repatriate in the Federal Register and
• Transfer of control of the cultural items from
  the museum or Federal agency to the lineal
  descendant, Indian tribe, or Native Hawaiian
  organization and
• Review by the National NAGPRA staff in
  consultation with the applicant on the amount
  necessary to complete the described activities,
  and not to exceed 15,000.
• Funding is not available for activities that
  occurred prior to submission of the application.

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• Proposal Writing Tips
• Read all of the directions first
• Follow the directions
• Use language that is clear and accessible
• Identify which tribes, museums, and agencies will
  be included in the project
• Request letters of support from all collaborators
  and project personnel

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Proposal Writing Tips

• Create a realistic schedule of completion
• Create a budget that is appropriate to project
  costs
• List matching funds whenever possible
• Submit a draft proposal for review and comment by
  December 29

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• Common Mistakes
• Not providing enough detail
• Not doing enough homework prior to preparing
  the proposal
• Incomplete application
• - Not providing letters of support
• - Not providing resumes for personnel
• - Not providing cost estimates

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What We Do Not Fund

• Repatriation or documentation of cultural items
  that originate from outside the United States
• Repatriation or documentation of cultural items
  that are controlled by foreign institutions
• Cultural properties management activities
• Cultural resources protection activities
• Costs of litigation, including expert testimony

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What We Do Not Fund

• Ongoing care and curation of Native American
  human remains and cultural items
• Construction and/or renovation of facilities
• Purchase of land and/or buildings
• Projects by grantees who are delinquent in
  reporting or completing work on previous grants
• Activities related to documentation and
  repatriation of human remains and items from the
  Smithsonian Institution

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Grant Deadlines

• Consultation/Documentation Awards
• December 29 Draft proposals must be received for
  pre-review.
• March 1 Final proposals must be postmarked.
• Repatriation Awards
• Applications are considered year-round, from
  October through June.
• www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra/grants

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NAGPRA Staff

• Sherry Hutt, Program Manager
• Sherry_Hutt_at_nps.gov - [phone]
• Robin Coates, Program Secretary
• Robin_Coates_at_nps.gov - [phone]
• Jaime Lavallee, Notice Coordinator
• Jaime_Lavallee_at_contractor.nps.gov - (202)
  354-2204
• Tim McKeown, Regulations, Review Committee,
  Regulations
• Tim_McKeown_at_nps.gov - [phone]
• Cynthia Murdock, Databases NACD, CUI, etc.
• Cynthia_Murdock_at_nps.gov - [phone]
• David Tarler, Training and Enforcement
• David_Tarler_at_nps.gov - [phone]
• Michelle Joan Wilkinson, NAGPRA Grants

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NAGPRA CONTACT INFO www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra

• Physical Address
• 1201 Eye St. NW (8th floor)
• Washington, DC 20005
• Mailing Address
• 1849 C St NW (2253)
• Washington, DC 20240
• Telephone [phone]
• FAX [phone]
• E-mail
• NAGPRA_Info_at_nps.gov
• NAGPRA_Grants_at_nps.gov