News Release

National Park Service Awards $1.9 Million for the Return of Native American Remains and Sacred Objects

Repatriation, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Nibokan (Place of the sleeping) Cemetery, 2013.

Photo courtesy of Marcella Hadden.

News Release Date: June 10, 2020

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WASHINGTON - The National Park Service today announced $1.9 million in grants to 12 Indian tribes and 18 museums 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).

“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.”

Grants to Fund Repatriation

Seven grants will fund the transportation and return of 50 cultural items, more than 24,000 funerary objects, and human remains representing 3,483 ancestors.

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.

Grants to Fund Consultation and Documentation

Twenty-four consultation and documentation grants will fund museum and tribal staff travel, consultation meetings, and research, all in support of the repatriation process.

In Kodiak, Alaska, the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository will undertake the Angilluki (Return Them) Project in collaboration with the Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Repatriation Commission. Museum staff will research the collections of 32 institutions to gain more comprehensive information on NAGPRA-eligible Alutiiq remains and cultural objects. The information gathered will be added to the Museum’s NAGPRA database and summarized in a written report for the Commission, which will convene for an in-person meeting. As a result of these documentation and relationship-building efforts, the Commission will establish regional repatriation priorities and develop resources to support future repatriation planning and implementation.

About NAGPRA

Enacted in 1990, 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.

FY 2020 NAGPRA Repatriation Grant Recipients

CA	Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation	$14,208.45
CA	University of the Pacific	$13,742.00
IL	Field Museum of Natural History	$14,990.00
IN	Ball State University	$8,046.00
OK	Osage Nation	$5,103.00
OK	Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma	$15,000.00
OK	The Chickasaw Nation	$15,000.00
	Total	$86,089.45

FY 2020 NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grant Recipients

AK	Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository	$56,254.00
AK	Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes	$89,999.00
AZ	Arizona Museum of Natural History Foundation	$53,140.00
AZ	Hopi Tribe	$89,739.00
CA	Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria	$85,000.00
CA	San Diego Museum of Man	$87,781.00
CA	Shingle Springs Rancheria	$90,000.00
CA	Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians	$32,268.00
MI	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	$89,874.00
MO	University of Central Missouri	$90,000.00
MO	University of Missouri System	$22,183.00
MS	Mississippi Department of Archives and History	$88,822.00
NM	Regents of New Mexico State University	$53,829.00
OH	Cincinnati Museum Center	$90,000.00
OH	Ohio Historical Society	$84,865.00
OK	Gilcrease Museum Management Trust	$89,819.00
OK	Miami Tribe of Oklahoma	$86,779.00
OK	Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma	$82,687.00
OK	University of Oklahoma	$90,000.00
OR	Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon	$74,396.00
OR	High Desert Museum	$87,047.00
UT	Utah State University	$50,625.00
VA	Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities	$89,617.30
WY	Northern Arapaho Tribe	$66,186.25
	Total	$1,820,910.55

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