Living peoples of many ethnic and occupational backgrounds may have an association with the land and its resources that pre-dates the establishment of a park. Ceremonial sites, migration routes, harvesting areas…all may be within park boundaries. While integral to a group's identity, they may not be why the park was established.

Nevertheless, by law, executive order, and agency policy, the National Park Service must respect these peoples and consider the effects of its actions, such as building a new road or visitor center or regulating the use of certain resources. This consultation is important to make more effective the management of NPS resources.

In turn, some laws, regulations, and Departmental Manuals regulate how ethnography is conducted.

• Legislation

  Ethnographers assist in fulfilling these mandates as interpreted by the NPS Management Policies. Some of the legislation and executive actions mandating this consultation include:

  • The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (.pdf)
  • The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (.pdf)
  • The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (.pdf)
  • The National Environmental Policy Act (.pdf)
  • The National Historic Preservation Act
  • The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (.pdf)
  • The NPS Organic Act

  Executive Actions

  • Executive Order 13007, Indian Sacred Sites
  • Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments
  • Presidential Memorandum re Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal Governments

• Management Policy

  Through interpreting laws and executive orders on cultural resource management, NPS policy defines traditionally associated peoples, commits management to consult with them and other members of the public, and to conduct ethnographic research on the values they attach to park resources. NPS policy includes management policy itself, Director’s Orders, and policy guidance.

  • Chapter 5: Cultural Resource Management
  • Director's Order-28: Cultural Resources Management
  • National Park Service Management Guidance-28 Cultural Resource Management Guideline

• Regulating Ethnography

  Although NPS shares this research with the public, certain laws, regulations, and Interior Department manuals require NPS to withhold culturally sensitive information as confidential. As explained in Negotiating Ethical and Legal Mazes in the Federal Workplace, some of these legal requirements are included in the following:

  • 36 CFR 800 (.pdf)
  • Administrative Procedure Act
  • DOI FOIA Handbook (.pdf)
  • DOI FOIA Regulations (.pdf)
  • The Freedom of Information Act
  • NAGPRA Regulations (.pdf)
  • Protection of Historic and Cultural Properties (36 CFR Part 800, .pdf)