In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
Now in its fourth decade, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) remains one of the most important legislative acts shaping the discipline of archaeology today. To adequately discuss the range of topics and provide examples and case studies incorporating shifting discourses of repatriation, policies, and collections management concerning Ancestors and their belongings subject to NAGPRA, the Committee on Museums, Collections, and Curation and the Curation Interest group have arranged a five-part series. Practitioners across the discipline work to respectfully return the Ancestors and cultural heritage of Indigenous nations, tribes, and communities, often without specialized training, and frequently without sufficient financial, administrative, or political institutional support. Collections professionals, especially, are expected to become instant NAGPRA experts, simply because their day is spent in curation spaces within which Ancestors and their belongings reside. Collections professionals contend with institutional pressure balanced against the importance of carrying out the law in a respectful manner, attempting to mitigate further trauma to Indigenous Peoples, and they must do so, often, while learning the law themselves. This session discusses past experiences of current practitioners, highlights challenges, and offers potential solutions to those and similar challenges that new and existing practitioners alike may face.
Other Keywords
Collections •
Museums •
and Repatriation •
Conservation and Curation
Geographic Keywords
United States of America (Country) •
North America (Continent) •
North America •
United Mexican States (Country) •
Department of Martinique (Country) •
Republic of El Salvador (Country) •
Department of Guadeloupe (Country) •
Cayman Islands (Country) •
Antigua and Barbuda (Country) •
Turks and Caicos Islands (Country)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)
- Documents (6)
-
Addressing NAGPRA, Contamination, and Policy in Museums (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Under NAGPRA, a museum must inform recipients of repatriation of any known contaminants such as preservatives, pesticides, or other treatments that may present a potential hazard to the persons handling the item. However, NAGPRA does not require museums to test for contaminants, and historically...
-
Consulting on Reburial Efforts (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Bureau of Reclamation is actively working within the foundations of its authorities to move beyond just regulatory compliance of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) to better support needs identified by Native American tribes, such as reburial of their...
-
I'm Only Human: A Case Study in the Problems and Progress in Achieving the Intent of NAGPRA (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In April 2023, one of the largest and most complex NAGPRA repatriations occurred in the northeastern United States. The Abbott Farm NHL repatriation included major museums, three federally recognized tribes, and the reburial of around 200 ancestors and over 10,000 associated funerary objects. As...
-
Making the Dream Work: Overcoming Challenges to Respectful Return through Collaboration (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A significant challenge to successful repatriation is an inability for federal agencies and museums to identify who has stewardship and compliance responsibility for collections. This occurs for various reasons: universities and CRM agencies may have conducted contract work for federal agencies,...
-
Navigating State and Federal NAGPRA Regulations in California (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In California, there are approximately 109 federally recognized tribes and at least 55 tribes not recognized by the federal government—the most of any state in the United States. Most, if not all, of these tribes have been displaced by the colonial occupation that ushered in the California...
-
Reviewing the 2023 Intensive NAGPRA Summer Training & Education Program (INSTEP) (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "In Search of Solutions: Exploring Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners (Part I)" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The national need for NAGPRA and repatriation education is widely recognized in the museum and tribal communities. In July 2023, the authors co-facilitated the first Intensive NAGPRA Summer Training & Education Program (INSTEP), funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. This presentation reviews the...