New Members Appointed to Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee
Date Released: 2022-11-23
On October 7, 2022, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland reappointed Mr. Armand Minthorn to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee for a two-year term. On November 22, 2022, Secretary Haaland appointed Ms. Domonique deBeaubien, Mr. E Halealoha Ayau, and Ms. Angela Garcia-Lewis to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee for four-year terms.
Mr. Minthorn was nominated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTURI) as a traditional religious Indian leader. Mr. Minthorn has served the CTUIR community as a traditional religious leader for many years and has also served in Tribal government. Mr. Minthorn officiates at ceremonies, feasts, reburials, funerals, namings, and memorials, as well as Tribal celebrations and other Tribal events. Mr. Minthorn was an at-large member of the CTUIR Board of Trustees from December 1995-2009, December 2011-2017, and from December 2019 to present. Mr. Minthorn has demonstrated expertise and applicable knowledge of NAGPRA. Mr. Minthorn has served as Chair of the CTUIR Cultural Resources Committee and as a representative on the Orgeon Hanford Advisory Board, working with state, Federal, Tribal and private entities on repatriation under NAGPRA, as well as Oregon and Washington state Indian remains laws. Mr. Minthorn served on the Review Committee for three terms and attended 26 Review Committee meetings, 16 of those as Chair of the Review Committee.
Ms. deBeaubien was nominated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Ms. deBeaubien currently serves as the THPO Collections Manager for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and leads the Seminole Tribe of Florida in all consultation and repatriation efforts under NAGPRA and Florida State Burial Law (§ 872.05). Ms. deBeaubien established the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Repatriation Committee and was appointed to serve as its Chair in 2011. Ms. deBeaubien has worked extensively with many state and Federal agencies including the National Park Service, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida State Historic Preservation Office, and dozens of universities across the United States. Ms. deBeaubien works with Seminole Tribe of Florida cultural advisors, and respectfully with other Tribes across the Southeast to advocate for repatriation and improve consultation with state and Federal partners. Ms. deBeaubien has demonstrated expertise in consultation, collaboration, dispute resolution, and knowledge of NAGPRA law and regulation. Ms. deBeaubien has additional experience participating in the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Culture and Heritage Committee and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Committee on legislative issues and has authored two successful resolutions with USET and NCAI on repatriation policy.
Mr. Ayau was nominated by the American Anthropological Association. Mr. Ayau, JD, is a trained legal advocate, experienced in national and international repatriation since 1990, who has led efforts to repatriate over 6,000 ancestral Hawaiians and cultural items. Mr. Ayau served as the Executive Director of Hui Mālama I Nā Kūpuna O Hawai‘i Nei which was formally dissolved in 2015. Hui Malama was restarted under the name Hui Iwi Kuamo‘o, and Mr. Ayau serves as its Executive Director. Mr. Ayau is a trained practitioner of traditional Native Hawaiian ceremonies to care for and protect their ancestral remains. Mr. Ayau has demonstrated expertise and applicable knowledge of NAGPRA, repatriation, reburial, and traditional Native Hawaiian cultural practices, and he has published extensively and made presentation regarding repatriation since 1991. Mr. Ayau is currently the Executive Director of ‘Aha Kāne, Foundation for the Advancement of Native Hawaiian Males; owner/consultant for Halealoha Consulting, Inc.; and project director for projects serving Native Hawaiians through Native Hawaiian organizations, such as ‘Aha Kāne, Nā Kālai Wa‘a, Hui Ho‘oniho, and ‘Aha Kukui o Molokai.
Ms. Garcia-Lewis was appointed from a list of persons developed and consented to by all other members. Ms. Garcia-Lewis is a cultural resource and cultural preservation expert. She currently serves as the Cultural Preservation Compliance Supervisor for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRP-MIC), Tribal Historic Preservation Office, with over 21 years of professional experience. Since 2007, on behalf of the SRP-MIC, Ms. Garcia-Lewis has facilitated consultation under various cultural resource preservation laws; is responsible for all facets of implementation under NAGPRA and the Arizona Burial Discovery Law; and has oversight responsibilities for the SRP-MIC NAGPRA Research Library, compliance under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act Consultation Program, and the Cultural Sensitivity Training Program. Ms. Garcia-Lewis developed a NAGPRA Consultation process, a NAGPRA Plan of Action (based on traditional religious beliefs) and wrote a new Four Southern Tribes of Arizona Repatriation Policy statement, supported by Tribal resolution of all of the Four Southern Tribes of Arizona. Ms. Garcia-Lewis was instrumental in the development of the Government-to-Government Consultation Toolkit online resource.
Other members of the committee include Mr. Timothy McKeown and Ms. Shelby Tisdale. Members of the seven-person committee are appointed by the Secretary to serve two- to four-year terms. The Secretary receives nominations from Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, traditional Native American religious leaders, and national museum and scientific organizations.The Review Committee monitors, reviews, and assists in the implementation of certain requirements of the Act. The committee faces a challenging set of tasks, ranging from assisting in the resolution of disputes, to advising the Secretary of the Interior on specific action for disposition of certain Native American human remains.
Seeking Nominations to the NAGPRA Review Committee
Date Released: 2022-10-05
The National Park Service is soliciting nominations for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Committee). The Secretary of the Interior will appoint one member from nominations submitted by Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, or traditional Native American religious leaders. The nominee must be a traditional Indian religious leader. Nominations must be received by December 5, 2022. Find out more in the Federal Register notice: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-21532
New Notice Templates
Date Released: 2022-07-11
The National NAGPRA Program has updated the notice templates to meet the requirements of the Federal Register and to reduce the time, effort, and cost of publication. Each template includes the minimum information required in a notice. You may continue to use the older templates until Oct 1, 2022, but we encourage you to start using the new templates as soon as possible. If you have any feedback on these new templates; please let us know no later than Sept 1, 2022.
NAGPRA Press Releases
Last updated: November 23, 2022