Tribal Agency and Federal Hegemony: NAGPRA in Action

Summary

Our knowledge and traditions tell us that the Ancient One is our Ancestor. We have requested repatriation for nearly twenty years only to be blocked at every turn. The final judgment made at the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit placed the Claimant Tribes in the status of "interested party" in the minds of the federal agency. This is the hegemonic framework the tribes found themselves in when the US Army of Engineers made the official determination that the Ancient One is Native American and is subject to the processes and procedures outlined in the NAGPRA. The Claimant Tribes took a proactive approach by putting forth a Request for the Disposition of the Ancient One and conducting a supporting cultural affiliation study. The court’s decision continued to influence the Corps’ application, or misapplication, of the preponderance of evidence standard holding the tribes to a higher legal standard than is required by law and creating an uneven playing field.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20384