Today the National Park Service announced $1.9 million in indian tribes and museums across the United States 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).
According to the National Park Service, “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 regarding repatriation. Section 10 of the Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to assist in implementing provisions of the Act. The National NAGPRA Program is administered by the National Park Service.”
“NAGPRA reinforces the basic right of people to determine how to best care for, and honor, the remains and societal objects of their ancestors,” said National Park Service Deputy Director David Vela, exercising the authority of the Director. “These grants will help tribes, museums and partners to respectfully transfer the items from museum collections to their traditional homes.”
The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation of Smith River, California, will carry out the Naa-ghee-xvlh (They Have Returned Home) Project. Tribal representatives will travel to the San Diego Museum of Man to take physical possession of nine funerary objects, as well as 50 cultural items considered to be sacred or tribal cultural patrimony. At the request of tribal elders and culture bearers, a conservator will conduct non-destructive testing to determine if the items were treated with any hazardous materials. The tribal delegation and museum staff will then prepare the items and construct appropriate containers for transport. Upon their return to Smith River, a ceremony will be held to welcome the cultural items home, and the funerary objects will be respectfully reinterred.
To read more about these grants, go HERE.
You can find out more about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act HERE.