Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), enacted in 1990, has affected Federal agencies’ and museums’ collections practices and philosophy as well as relationships with indigenous groups across the U.S. But NAGPRA’s impact goes beyond collections, especially for Federal land management agencies and those working on public lands. The statute’s Section 3 (Ownership) and the associated regulations – 43 CFR 10.3 (Intentional archaeological excavations), 10.4 (Inadvertent discoveries), 10.5 (Consultation), 10.6 (Custody), and 10.7 (Disposition of unclaimed human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony) – address the ownership or control of Native American human remains and other cultural items subject to NAGPRA excavated or discovered on Federal or tribal land after November 16, 1990. These provisions have direct implications for how archaeologists in Federal agencies do their work and coordinate with other archaeologists—academic and CRM—working on Federal or tribal lands. This session will address changes in agency policy and practice, and the opportunities and challenges encountered in a post-NAGPRA environment by Federal archaeologists from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Bureau of Reclamation.

Other Keywords
Cultural Resources and Heritage Management • Cultural Resource Management • NAGPRA • Museums, Collections, and Repatriation • arctic • Ancestral Pueblo • Cultural Heritage and Preservation • NAGPRA, repatriation, field research, public lands • NAGPRA, Inadvertent Discoveries

Geographic Keywords
North America (Continent) • United States of America (Country) • Canada (Country) • North America • Arizona (State / Territory) • United Mexican States (Country) • Department of Martinique (Country) • Republic of El Salvador (Country) • Department of Guadeloupe (Country) • Cayman Islands (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-8 of 8)

  • Documents (8)
Documents
  • Archaeology and NAGPRA in Alaska: Examples of Intentional Excavation (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Rhea Hood. Rachel Mason.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Intentional excavation of human remains and associated items subject to NAGPRA occurs rarely. Such excavations are only permitted under particular circumstances and only with approval of lineal descendants (as appropriate) and affiliated tribes. In Alaska, National Park Service staff have facilitated...

  • The Consequences of Drought: Inadvertent Discoveries on Federal Land (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elisa Ryan. Jeremy Foin.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Several years of unrelenting drought in California has resulted in historically-low drawdowns to the state’s reservoirs. A corollary effect has been a notable increase in the number of inadvertent discoveries along the newly-exposed shorelines, an occurrence that has clear implications for NAGPRA. In response,...

  • Developing Comprehensive Agreements on a Designated Cultural Landscape (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Bridget Ambler.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The northern San Juan region in southwestern Colorado reflects the ancestral homelands for 26 federally-recognized tribes. BLM’s Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is a designated cultural landscape per Presidential Proclamation and contains the highest archaeological site density in North America. ...

  • NAGPRA Successes, Challenges, and Emerging Issues: Forest Service approaches to post-1990 discoveries (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Wendy Sutton.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Forest Service manages 193 million acres and over 277,000 recorded sites throughout the United States; NAGPRA has become integral to how we conduct work. Developing POAs with tribes prior to intentional excavations has helped foster increased communication and collaboration; tribal roles in decision making...

  • Planning for Post-1990 Inadvertent Discoveries in the Alaska Region, USDA Forest Service (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Keri Hicks. Theresa Thibault. John Kinsner.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Post-1990 inadvertent discoveries are not uncommon but visiting a reported discovery is costly, typically requiring personnel to boat or fly to remote locations to verify land ownership as well as age and affiliation of the remains. An additional challenge is the common knowledge that some individuals were buried...

  • Recovery of Inadvertent Discoveries along the Lost Coast of the King Range NCA (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sharyl Kinnear-Ferris.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recovery and reburial of inadvertent discoveries of exposed pre-Columbian human remains has repeatedly occurred at a remote archaeological site along the Lost Coast of the King Range National Conservation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management-Arcata Field Office. The site is located in a remote area,...

  • Understanding Section 3 of NAGPRA (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mary Carroll.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) became law on November 16, 1990. In the 29 years since NAGPRA was enacted, much attention has been paid to Native American human remains and other cultural items subject to NAGPRA already in museum and Federal agency collections. However, there’s...

  • Yes! You Can Still Dig, but, Please Plan Ahead. NAGPRA Section 3 New Discoveries in Land Management (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Emily Palus.

    This is an abstract from the "Beyond Collections: Federal Archaeology and "New Discoveries" under NAGPRA" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Vast, but not vacant, the 256 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management offer are an incredible laboratory for archaeological research with 400+ academic and CRM permittees annually conducting thousands of surveys and hundreds of excavation projects. BLM manages these lands for...