Native North America > Reference Resources By Topic

Repatriation (NAGPRA)

The United States Congress passed the Public Law 101-601, Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), on November 16, 1990. This law addressed a long-standing concern of Native Americans: organizations are required to return any human remains and associated grave goods (known as cultural items) and specific ceremonial objects (known as sacred objects) to the native peoples from which they were taken. In addition, tribes must be consulted directly before any excavations of Indian sites are undertaken. NAGPRA attempts to redress the wholesale removal of native cultural property that took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by governmental and private institutions and individuals.

The Future of the Past: Archaeologists, Native Americans, and Repatriation. Edited by Tamara L. Bray. New York; London: Garland Publishing, 2001. JFE 01-9157

Gulliford, Andrew. Sacred Objects and Sacred Places: Preserving Tribal Traditions. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 2000. HBC 00-11538

Green, Rayna. American Indian Sacred Objects, Skeletal Remains, Repatriation and Reburial: A Resource Guide. Washington, D.C.: American Indian Program, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, 1994. HBC 95-13889

Mending the Circle: A Native American Repatriation Guide: Understanding and Implementing NAGPRA and the Official Smithsonian and Other Repatriation Policies. New York: American Indian Ritual Object Repatriation Foundation, 1996. HBC 98-2199

Native Americans and Archaeologists: Stepping Stones to Common Ground. Edited by Nina Swidler et al. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1997. HBC 98-3538

Repatriation Reader: Who Owns American Indian Remains? Edited by Devon A. Mihesuah. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. HBC 01-340

United States. Congress, Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs. Implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act: Hearing Before the Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session... December 6, 1995. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.: Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales Office, 1996. READEX Microfiche Y. 4. IN 2/11: S. HRG. 104-399. Y 4. IN 2/11 : S. HRG. 104-399 (at SIBL)

Watkins, Joe. Indigenous Archaeology: American Indian Values and Scientific Practice. Walnut Creek, CA; Oxford: AltaMira Press, 2000. JGE 01-15

 

Compiled by Paula A. Baxter, 2002