More Than Just Compliance: Practicing NAGPRA at The Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 2017, the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) received NAGPRA inquiries regarding its archaeological collection. This prompted a re-examination of the organization’s 1990s response to NAGPRA, and led to the conclusion that the ADAH was unintentionally incompliant with the law. Staff began development of a multiphase project not only to become compliant, but also to demonstrate the agency’s recognition of responsibility to Native descendant groups. This paper will give an overview of the collection, outline collections-management tasks and digitization efforts to improve collections accessibility and control, and will discuss engagement with local universities, other NAGPRA practitioners, and the process of on-going consultation with culturally affiliated tribes. The goal of this project is for the ADAH to respond efficiently and effectively to current and future NAGPRA inquiries, to engage in respectful and sustained partnerships with tribes, and to serve a resource for other Alabama institutions with obligations under NAGPRA.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2020 SHA General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 809