Interior Department to Consult With Community Leaders on Major Changes to NAGPRA

Jul 23, 20210

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Ledger art by George Curtis Levi, who is a member of the Southern Cheyenne Tribe of Oklahoma and is also Southern Arapaho. This ledger art painting depicts how repatriation builds community and strengthens culture. It was painted on an antique mining document from Montana that dates from the 1890s. India ink and liquid acrylic paints were used. (Photo/AIAA, Repatriation Conference)

WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior announced on July 15 that it will begin consultations with tribal and Native Hawaiian community leaders about an overhaul of regulations that implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The draft regulations will reshape the processes by which federal agencies and museums return Native American human remains and cultural objects to descendents and Native communities.

"The repatriation of human remains and sacred cultural objects, and the protection of sacred sites is integral to preserving and commemorating Indigenous culture," Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said in a department press release. "As the Department continues its work to confront the history of federal boarding schools – including returning the human remains of Native children to their families – we will implement the policies and requirements of NAGPRA to address tribal concerns."

https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/interior-department-to-consult-with-native-community-leaders-on-major-changes-to-nagpra-regulations