Consultation and Beyond: NAGPRA as a Gateway to Collaboration

Summary

With NAGPRA’s passage 25 years ago, many saw this federal mandate as an opportunity for museum professionals, scientists, and Native Americans to assess and change the dynamics of their relationships. Few however, likely anticipated the full range of collaborations between Native communities and institutions that emerged from NAGPRA consultations. One such example is the ongoing partnership between the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center in Zuni, New Mexico, which began with an NPS NAGPRA Documentation grant in 2010. The ensuing consultations led to a number of positive outcomes including the discovery and Zuni remake of a 1923 ethnographic film of the Zuni Shalako ceremony. These same consultations precipitated the Zuni Map Art exhibition at the AMNH, impacted continuing collections-based museum research, and provided mutually enriching educational and internship opportunities. Finally, the AMNH has joined with other institutions in the development and implementation of the innovative online Amidolanne Database Project. Seven years later, the Zuni-AMNH collaboration endures, strengthened by parallel and at times intersecting projects, each with their own trajectories that ensure the longevity of the partnership for years to come.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• NAGPRA Applied: Stories from the Field on its 25th Anniversary

Keywords

Spatial Coverage