#nagpra — Public Fediverse posts

#ICYMI: Lessons from NAGPRA

This article introduces the #START model, offering a guide for institutions preparing for future repatriation. Drawing on #NAGPRA, Domeischel & Neller emphasize that meaningful progress begins with planning, collaboration, and incremental action.

🔍 Read more:
http://cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/lessons-from-nagpra/A838F6D355F1B747575EB548D421811D

Decades after federal mandates, the AMNH is still holding 2,700 Native American remains. Why has it taken so long for institutions to honor repatriation laws, and what must change? @nytimes @amnh

#Repatriation #NAGPRA #Museums #IndigenousRights #History

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/arts/design/decades-late-museum-scrambles-to-return-2700-native-remains.html

What happens when students gain real-world experience in NAGPRA and repatriation work?🏺

Caseldine et al. explore how undergraduate #NAGPRA education and collaboration with Tribal communities help prepare the next generation of practitioners for work in #archaeology.

🔎 Read the FirstView article:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/guiding-the-next-generation-of-nagpra-practitioners-formalizing-undergraduate-nagpra-education/3B1AB1EB35C3E7B54CAC43A3A756C429

From NAGPRA to DCIII: Repatriation as a catalyst for institutional change. 📜🏛️

This article argues that #NAGPRA is a "nexus" for decolonization. Using a UGA case study, the authors explore shifting from Western-centric curation to Tribal #collaboration.

🔗 Link:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/nagpra-nexus-institutional-integrity-and-the-evolving-role-of-archaeological-laboratories/9792A90811AF5CC351B2DD59BD5529A7

Reposting from Cambridge University Press-Archaeology:
‘A Look at the Society for American Archaeology’s Day of #NAGPRA' is a new blog for the SAA's @saa-aap.bsky.social, detailing the importance of repatriation and collaboration with Indigenous communities in #archaeology: 🔗 cup.org/4iUvrJa

Reposting from Cambridge University Press-Archaeology:
'A Look at the Society for American Archaeology’s Day of #NAGPRA' is a new blog for the SAA's @saa-aap.bsky.social, detailing the importance of repatriation and collaboration with Indigenous communities in #archaeology: 🔗 cup.org/4iUvrJa

A true turning point? This opinion piece examines how new laws are strengthening tribal sovereignty & empowering Native communities to reclaim their ancestors and cultural items. Read the full analysis. #NativeAmericanRights #Repatriation #NAGPRA #TribalSovereignty #CulturalHeritage https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-a-turning-point-for-native-american-repatriation/2938723

Reposting from Cambridge University Press-Archaeology:
‘A Look at the Society for American Archaeology’s Day of #NAGPRA' is a new blog for the SAA's @saa-aap.bsky.social, detailing the importance of repatriation and collaboration with Indigenous communities in #archaeology: 🔗 cup.org/4iUvrJa

Our digital review for our themed issue on #NAGPRA by R. Eric Hollinger, examines the expanding use of #3D digitization by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Indigenous communities, and others. #archaeology #repatriation

Read it Open Access here:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/emerging-uses-of-3d-technologies-in-the-practice-of-repatriation-and-revitalization/0E18BEE0C86189B92A896114480F05AF

What should #NAGPRA practitioners do about the digital records associated with Ancestors and their belongings? Domeischel et al. recommend that curatorial facilities adopt a policy prior to digitizing records that contain information pertinent to NAGPRA:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/considering-nagpra-when-crafting-a-digitization-policy-or-protocol/7ACC9BC75BDD7E5802A62FEB6E2A2C5C

New in AAP: Bowers and Elmore reflect on seven years of #NAGPRA implementation at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, and on the positive outcomes of prioritizing the integration of #Indigenous perspectives into collections care.

Read their paper here:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/perspectives-policies-and-practices-challenges-and-pathways-for-culturally-sensitive-collections-care/5FCB9E4FB8670A7886596EB572649E43

In this new research article, 5 institutions come together to share their experiences with developing collaborative policies for repatriation and care of Ancestors & their belongings. #nagpra #curation #culturalheritage

Read the article by Garland et al. here:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/considerations-for-developing-collaborative-policies-on-nagpra-repatriation-and-the-care-of-ancestors-and-cultural-items/8DA9CA01EEA1645950913B3EFFB2BF97

Natural History Collections and Repatriation: Beyond #NAGPRA
Date: December 8, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:00 PM ET / Noon-1:00 PM MT / 11:00 AM-Noon PT
Co-hosts: Natural Science Collections Alliance, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, American Institute of Biological Sciences
This webinar will be recorded.
Register here👇
https://nscalliance.org/webinar-nhc-repatriation-beyond-nagpra/ #globalmuseum #NaturalHistory #museums #collections

In light of proposed revisions to NAGPRA’s implementation regulations, Erin Guthrie conducted an extensive, independent analysis of public responses to the prospective changes.

Learn more in her AAP FirstView publication.

#archaeology #NAGPRA #nativenations #repatriation

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/granular-analysis-of-public-comments-to-the-2022-proposed-nagpra-revisions/7D3E76E4046920903FC8175AFE96EF53

Jennifer Haas, Brooke Morgan, Ellen Lofaro, Jayne-Leigh Thomas, Sarah O’Donnell, Nina Schreiner, & Miranda Panther explore the impact of revised #NAGPRA regulations on how #NativeNations & institutions care for #Indigenous ancestral remains & #culturalitems.

Learn more in their AAP FirstView piece.

https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2025.14

Nice quote from historic researcher Jeffrey Hantman about his experience working to repatriate human remains held in museums to the #Monacan people: "I have never felt better about anything I have accomplished in my career." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_Graves_Protection_and_Repatriation_Act #NAGPRA

Question for higher ed archaeology types concerning the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and how your University is making sure it is in compliance.

Is it true that most Universities that are in a position to adjust their operations to comply with NAGPRA are putting significant and (some would say) unjust heat on members of their archeology faculty and staff?

I'm trying to see if there's a pattern: by putting their archaeology faculty in a jackpot, scapegoating them for past University compliance failures, they are "demonstrating" that they are taking NAGPRA seriously. The more they punish their faculty, the better they look to the feds and their peers. (Even though NAGPRA is a University compliance issue, not a faculty compliance issue like IRB or FCOI.)

I look forward to responses, expecting that they will be anonymized to protect the guilty and innocent.

#NAGPRA #compliance #highered #facultyrights #mismanagement #misconduct

The National Park Service today announced
$3 million in grants to 13 Tribes
and 21 museums to assist in the consultation, documentation, and repatriation of #ancestral #remains and #cultural #items
as part of the 🔸Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act🔸 ( #NAGPRA ).

Enacted in 1990, NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to
inventory and identify Native American human remains and cultural items in their collections,
and to ⭐️consult with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations. ⭐️

NAGPRA authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to facilitate respectful return of ancestors and objects to descendant communities.

This work is administered by the National Park Service.

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/national-park-service-awards-$3-million-to-aid-return-of-native-american-remains-sacred-objects.htm

A painful true poem about the history of transportation projects, "The Facts of Art" by Natalie Diaz.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56354/the-facts-of-art

#PoemADay #poem #TodaysPoem #poetry #TranspoPoems #infrastructure #transportation #Hopi #Arizona #NatalieDiaz #NAGPRA #ARPA #Indigenous #Native #NDN

Senator Pushes #Museums to Return “Stolen” Native American Remains and Belongings
==

In a #Senate floor speech that centered America’s colonial history, Brian Schatz said institutions have a moral obligation to comply with federal #repatriation law. He demanded urgent action.

#NativeAmerican #NAGPRA #News

https://www.propublica.org/article/senator-schatz-museums-native-american-remains-belongings?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

Webinar on a successful repatriation or a major artifact, from the #Buffalo (NY) History Museum to the Seneca Nation. Everyone affiliated with a historical organization or museum is invited. Bring your #NAGPRA questions!

Register here:

https://wnylrc.org/event/repatriating-red-jacket-peace-medal-and-cultivating-museum-partnerships

#Histodons
#museums

The American Museum of Natural History to Close Exhibits Displaying #Native American Belongings
==

The change is in response to new federal regulations that went into effect this month following reporting by ProPublica on institutional failures to return #NativeAmerican remains and sacred objects to tribes.

#News #Museum #NYC #NewYork #Repatriation #NAGPRA

https://www.propublica.org/article/american-museum-natural-history-to-close-native-american-exhibits?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

Thank you, Deb Haaland! It makes a difference who's got power.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/arts/design/american-museum-of-natural-history-nagpra.html

#NAGPRA #DebHaaland #Repatriation #BidenAdministration #Looting #TribalConsultation #AMNH #Museums #HumanRemains #FunerealItems #CulturalHeritage

The Remains of Thousands of #Native Americans Were Returned to #Tribes This Year
==

Following decades of #Indigenous activism and the 2023 publication of ProPublica’s “Repatriation Project,” federal officials have seen more activity leading to the return of ancestral remains to tribal nations than any other year since 1990.

#Repatriation #Museums #NAGPRA #News

https://www.propublica.org/article/repatriation-progress-in-2023?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

New Federal Rules Aim to Speed Repatriations of #Native Remains and Burial Items
==

The new Interior Department #regulations address long-criticized loopholes and issues identified by ProPublica’s reporting. The updated rules will go into effect in 2024.

#repatriation #Museums #Schools #NativeAmerican #News #NAGPRA

https://www.propublica.org/article/interior-department-revamps-repatriation-rules-native-remains-nagpra?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

Tribes in #Maine Spent Decades Fighting to Rebury Ancestral Remains. #Harvard Resisted Them at Nearly Every Turn.
==

The university’s Peabody Museum exploited loopholes to prevent #repatriation to the Wabanaki people while still staying in compliance with #NAGPRA.

The tribes didn’t give up.

https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-wabanaki-tribes-struggle-to-reclaim-ancestral-remains-from-harvard?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post