News Release

National Park Service Provides $1.6 Million in Grants for the Return of Native American Remains and Sacred Objects

NPS staff with Tlingit clan hat

NPS Photo

News Release Date: September 7, 2018

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WASHINGTON -- The National Park Service announced today $1,657,000 in Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act grants to return ancestral remains and cultural items to Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.

"Through these grants the National Park Service works with tribes, museums, and partners to facilitate the return of sacred objects and ancestral remains to native peoples," said National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith.

The 16 repatriation grants will fund transportation and reburial of 243 ancestors and 2,268 cultural items. Funding will cover trips from Illinois to Washington, Alaska to Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma to New York, plus the cost of reburials in Colorado, Utah, and Wisconsin. In support of the repatriation process, the 19 consultation and documentation grants will provide funding for museum and tribal staff, travel, and where appropriate, collections digitization.

Enacted in 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 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.

Indian tribes and museums in Oklahoma will receive more than $450,000 in funding.

• The Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma, Delaware Tribe of Indians, and Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma will each send representatives to museums in states outside of Oklahoma, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas, to view and consult on their NAGPRA-related collections.
• The Gilcrease Museum at the University of Tulsa and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma will each host consultation visits with tribal partners, focusing on human remains and funerary objects in their collections that are of interest to tribes in Oklahoma.
• Ball State University will provide travel funds and coordination for two meetings in Oklahoma to consult with the tribes whose traditional homelands are in Indiana.

FY 2018 NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grant Recipients

State	Recipient	Amount
Alaska	Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska	$89,592
California	San Diego Museum of Man	$89,793
California	Table Mountain Rancheria Band of Indians	$41,925
California	Tolowa Dee-ni Nation	$85,056
California	Wilton Rancheria	$89,638
Colorado	Colorado Museum of Natural History	$84,522
Colorado	Regents of the University of Colorado	$74,659
Iowa	University of Iowa	$87,568
Indiana	Ball State University	$37,268
Missouri	University of Missouri System	$32,000
New Mexico	San Juan County Museum Association	$69,932
Ohio	Cincinnati Museum Center	$90,000
Ohio	Ohio Historical Society	$88,248
Oklahoma	Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma	$67,466
Oklahoma	Delaware Tribe of Indians	$89,287
Oklahoma	Gilcrease Museum Management Trust	$80,939
Oklahoma	Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma	$90,000
Oklahoma	University of Oklahoma	$89,999
Texas	Texas A&M University	$88,993
	Total	$1,466,885

FY 2018 NAGPRA Repatriation Grant Recipients

State	Recipient	Amount
Alaska	Sitka Tribe Of Alaska	$14,833
Arizona	University Of Arizona	$15,000
California	Pala Band Of Mission Indians	$15,000
Colorado	State Historical Society Of Colorado	$14,673
Illinois	Field Museum Of Natural History (receiving 2 awards)	$12,691
Louisiana	Coushatta Tribe Of Louisiana	$14,998
Michigan	Huron Potawatomi, Inc	$15,000
Michigan	Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan	$3,552
Minnesota	White Earth Band	$7,290
New Mexico	Pueblo Of San Felipe	$15,000
Oklahoma	Chickasaw Nation	$14,999
Oklahoma	Delaware Nation	$15,000
Utah	University Of Utah	$13,654
Washington	Swinomish Indian Tribal Community	$13,002
Wisconsin	Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin	$5,423
	Total	$190,115

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