NAGPRA

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)¹ is a federal law, enacted in 1990, that mandates repatriation of human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony from all institutions in receipt of federal funding to affiliated Lineal Descendants, Federally Recognized Native American Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations. Significant revisions to NAGPRA regulations, designed to streamline and expedite the repatriation process, were passed in December 2023². Compliance with NAGPRA is overseen by the National Park Service’s National NAGPRA Program on behalf of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. To learn more about NAGPRA and compliance requirements, please visit the National NAGPRA Program’s website³.

 

¹ Public Law 101-601: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act

² National NAGPRA Program

³ 43 CFR Part 10: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act Regulations

NAGPRA protects the human remains of Native American and Native Hawaiian Ancestors (any form of biological matter that was not naturally shed from a body during the course of life), funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. Legal definitions of these terms can be found in 43 CFR Part 10 Section 10.2¹ and in the NAGPRA glossary²; however, it is important to note that many of these terms were developed without the consultation of Native American Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations. To ensure that NAGPRA compliance efforts are conducted ethically and respectfully, institutions should engage in dialogue with their Native American and Native Hawaiian partners about preferred terminology to employ throughout the consultation and repatriation processes.

 

¹ 43 CFR Part 10: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act Regulations

² NAGPRA glossary

Cultural affiliation is defined as the relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced historically or prehistorically (prior to European contact) between a present-day Native American Tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization and an identifiable earlier group. Affiliation is established when a preponderance of the evidence—based on geographical, kinship, biological, archeological, linguistic, folklore, oral tradition, historical evidence, or other information or expert opinion— reasonably leads to such a conclusion. Institutions are required to provide open access to resources concerning their holdings that may aid in determining cultural affiliation to consulting Native American Tribes and/or Native Hawaiian Organizations and must defer to the knowledge of those parties. More information about the cultural affiliation process can be found in 43 CFR Part 10 Section 10.3¹.

 

¹ 43 CFR Part 10: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act Regulations

Repatriation refers to the formal transfer of legal possession or control¹ of a holding from an institution to affiliated parties, often followed by a transfer of custody². To facilitate repatriation, institutions must first assess their holdings for NAGPRA-eligible materials, inventory any NAGPRA-protected materials that are discovered, conduct research into the origin and acquisition history of those materials, and consult with Native American Tribes and/or Native Hawaiian Organizations to determine affiliation. Institutions maintain transparency throughout this process by submitting formal progress notifications to the National NAGPRA Program at defined stages, which are subsequently published in the Federal Register. Additional information about the repatriation process can be found in 43 CFR Part 10 Section 10.10³.

 

¹ Possession or control is defined as having sufficient interest in an item to direct, manage, oversee, or restrict use of that item. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary.

² Custody is defined as having an obligation to care for an item due to a loan, lease, license, or bail. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary.

³ 43 CFR Part 10: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act Regulations

All federal agencies, museums, universities, and institutions that receive federal funding and have possession or control of Native American and/or Native Hawaiian Ancestral human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony are subject to the requirements of NAGPRA. The Smithsonian Institution is notably excluded from NAGPRA legislation, as it adheres to repatriation processes outlined under the National Museum of the American Indian Act of 1989¹.

¹ Public Law 101-185: National Museum of the American Indian Act (1989)

Current NAGPRA regulations define possession or control as having sufficient interest in an item to direct, manage, oversee, or restrict use of that item. This differs from custody, which is defined as having an obligation to care for an item due to a loan, lease, license, or bail¹. Responsibility for overseeing the repatriation process for all NAGPRA-eligible materials falls on the institution holding legal possession or control of those materials. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary².

¹ 43 CFR Part 10: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act Regulations

² NAGPRA glossary

Many universities and educational institutions in the United States hold large collections of NAGPRA-eligible materials, particularly those with long standing anthropology and archaeology programs with a North American research focus. When NAGPRA legislation was initially passed, institutions were required to submit inventories of NAGPRA-protected holdings by 1995 to remain in compliance and subsequently engage in the repatriation process. Due to a variety of logistical challenges, loopholes allowing NAGPRA materials to be classified as unable to be culturally affiliated, and lack of punitive enforcement for noncompliance, many institutional NAGPRA efforts stagnated after the initial inventory submission. As a result, many of these large collections remain under institutional control.

In December 2023, NAGPRA regulations were revised to resolve many of those issues and institute a new timeline for repatriation¹. While the revisions are essential to ensuring that institutions fulfil their responsibilities to Lineal Descendants, Federally Recognized Native American Tribes and/or Native Hawaiian Organizations, the resolution of large collections in accordance with the required timeline presents a significant challenge, particularly for those that do not have full-time NAGPRA personnel or an implementation plan.

 

¹ 43 CFR Part 10: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act Regulations

Noncompliant institutions may face civil penalties for failing to meet legal obligations (including the loss of federal funding sources) and criminal prosecution in cases where NAGPRA-protected materials are being sold or exploited for profit. To learn more about the punitive measures associated with noncompliance, please see 43 CFR Part 10 Section 10.11¹.

 

¹ 43 CFR Part 10: Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act Regulations

The University of Georgia (UGA) is an institution that receives federal funding and is therefore obligated to comply with NAGPRA legislation. UGA is currently knowledgeable about large collections of NAGPRA-protected materials in its possession¹ and believes that more will be discovered in the future as University holdings are reassessed.

 

¹ Possession is defined as having sufficient interest in an item to direct, manage, oversee, or restrict use of that item. This differs from custody, which refers to having an obligation to care for an item due to a loan, lease, license, or bail. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary.

In accordance with the UGA NAGPRA Policy (2024)¹, NAGPRA efforts at UGA are overseen by the UGA NAGPRA Committee, which operates in conjunction with the Office of Research Integrity & Safety and the Laboratory of Archaeology². This team is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the ethical treatment of Ancestors and cultural items, as well as the good-faith discovery process of University holdings that may meet NAGPRA eligibility criteria³.

 

¹ UGA NAGPRA Policy (2024)

² UGA NAGPRA Team  |   UGA NAGPRA Committee Charter (2024)

³ UGA NAGPRA Confirmation of Commitment (2024) 

The Laboratory of Archaeology currently holds custody¹ of the largest NAGPRA-protected collections at UGA. In addition to being geographically situated on the ancestral homeland of several Native American Tribes indigenous to the Southeast, UGA features long-standing anthropology and archaeology programs that specialize in the study of this region. The Laboratory serves as a repository for archaeological collections and associated records derived from the research efforts of faculty, staff, and students of these programs over time. Prior to the enactment of NAGPRA, some collections assembled during the course of research included materials that are now protected. NAGPRA-eligible holdings under UGA’s control² that are presently held outside of the Laboratory may be affiliated with Federally Recognized Native American Tribes beyond the Southeast and/or Native Hawaiian Organizations.

In addition to housing materials under the jurisdiction of UGA, the Laboratory also curates collections controlled by the state of Georgia, several federal agencies, cultural resource management companies, non-profit research organizations, and donations from private entities. While the responsibility of repatriating NAGPRA-protected materials in those collections falls on the controlling parties, the Laboratory is committed to maintaining secure, respectful custody until that occurs.

 

¹ Custody is defined as having an obligation to care for an item due to a loan, lease, license, or bail. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary.

² Possession is defined as having sufficient interest in an item to direct, manage, oversee, or restrict use of that item. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary.

Research, teaching, display, imaging, and circulation of NAGPRA-protected materials is strictly prohibited without the express permission of affiliated Lineal Descendants, Federally Recognized Native American Tribes and/or Native Hawaiian Organizations.

When NAGPRA was enacted in 1990, institutions were required to evaluate their holdings and submit formal inventories of all NAGPRA-eligible materials to the National NAGPRA Program¹ by 1995. UGA personnel at the Laboratory of Archaeology were tasked with compliance, as it was known to house the greatest number of NAGPRA-protected materials. After the Laboratory fulfilled this initial obligation, repatriation efforts stagnated.

The need to reignite NAGPRA-efforts was recognized in 2019, after the Laboratory underwent a transition in leadership. To ensure that UGA’s responsibilities to descendant communities and the law were met, Laboratory staff were tasked with reevaluating collections that had been previously inventoried and preparing to engage in the consultation and repatriation processes. The Laboratory has since applied for and been awarded NAGPRA Consultation Grants from the National Park Service to support these renewed efforts and sought to amplify the voices of partnering descendant communities in every stage of the process. The Laboratory collaboratively developed and adopted its internal NAGPRA Policies & Standards (2021)², Care and Trust Agreement (2021)³, and Reverential Area Access Policy (2022)⁴ to guide daily practice.

In 2022, the importance of timely, ethical compliance received renewed attention from UGA leadership, prompting a partnership to be formed between the Laboratory and the Office of Research Integrity & Safety. In collaboration with descendant communities, this team has led the development of the UGA NAGPRA Policy (2024)⁵ that will enable a good-faith assessment of all University holdings outside of the Laboratory for NAGPRA-eligible materials and the creation of a diverse NAGPRA Committee⁶ to oversee that process⁷.

 

¹ National NAGPRA Program

² NAGPRA Policies & Standards (2021)

³ Care & Trust Agreement (2021)

⁴ Reverential Area Access Policy (2022)

⁵ UGA NAGPRA Policy (2024)

⁶ UGA NAGPRA Committee Charter (2024)

⁷ Please visit NAGPRA At UGA to learn more about UGA’s NAGPRA compliance history.

UGA is committed to the ethical stewardship, conservation, and proper care of all Ancestors and cultural items in its possession¹ and those controlled by other institutions of which it currently has custody². In recognition of its responsibility to ensuring that NAGPRA is implemented with consideration and respect toward the sovereignty of Federally Recognized Native American Tribes, cultural protocols, practices, and knowledge, UGA is also committed to instituting and maintaining traditional care practices developed in consultation with its partners. In support of this, all Ancestors and cultural items rest in a secured, restricted-access space within the Laboratory of Archaeology’s curation facility—the Reverential Area³—where they are rehoused in accordance with traditional care requests and curatorial best practices while they await repatriation. The Laboratory welcomes all suggestions from affiliated descendant communities to increase its level of understanding of and respect for the cultures and traditions that are represented within this space.

 

¹ Possession is defined as having sufficient interest in an item to direct, manage, oversee, or restrict use of that item. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary.

² Custody is defined as having an obligation to care for an item due to a loan, lease, license, or bail. To learn more about NAGPRA terminology, visit the NAGPRA glossary.

³ Reverential Area Access Policy (2022)

UGA welcomes consultation with Lineal Descendants, Federally Recognized Native American Tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations with the express intent of meeting their priorities and the spirit of NAGPRA legislation. UGA considers consultation as a means by which to develop relationships, facilitate more effective communication, and expand collaborative work with partners through the NAGPRA process, research, community engagement, and outreach opportunities. UGA recognizes that consultation is a long-term process, requiring multiple dialogues and visits, and is committed to ensuring opportunities for this to take place throughout the entire NAGPRA process. Highlighted below are a few elements that can be incorporated into consultation; however, UGA welcomes all suggestions related to this process and maintains that the wishes of consulting parties are of the highest priority:

• • Full access to all documentation, media, and collections
  • Assisting in reviewing and determining cultural affiliation
  • Viewing all, or specific portions of, collections during any phase of the NAGPRA process
  • Assisting in identifying additional NAGPRA material (e.g., sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony)
  • Visits to the Laboratory of Archaeology to discuss and/or view NAGPRA collections with, accommodation to special requests
  • Frequent communication by email, phone, or virtual meetings to discuss NAGPRA collections and the Laboratory’s NAGPRA database
  • Identifying and enacting individualized traditional care practices through care and trust agreements¹ 
  • If requested, drafting of memorandums of understanding or other contracts during consultation
  • If requested, discussing the return or destruction of records with detailed cultural knowledge provided during consultation to establish affiliation or for other purposes. However, such requests will be subject to applicable Georgia state laws and University System of Georgia policies concerning the retention of records. Regardless, UGA will not use the detailed cultural knowledge received from consulting parties for any purpose other than in connection with the agreed purpose of the consultation, whether that is to establish affiliation or otherwise. Detailed cultural knowledge will not be disclosed to any person not involved in the consultation without the consent of the consulting party, unless required by law, court order, or other legal process.

¹ Care & Trust Agreement (2021)

Please contact UGA’s NAGPRA Compliance Office at nagpra@uga.edu to discuss questions and concerns.