What We Do

Administrative responsibilities under the Act are assigned to the Secretary of the Interior, who delegated certain tasks to the National Park Service, National NAGPRA Program. The Program staff:

• Assist Federal agencies, the State of Hawai'i, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations to protect human remains and cultural items on Federal or Tribal lands

• Assist museums and Federal agencies with repatriation through inventories of human remains, summaries of cultural items, and notices in the Federal Register
• Support the Review Committee established to monitor NAGPRA compliance, make findings of fact, facilitates the resolution of disputes, consults on regulations, and reports to Congress
• Staff the Secretary of the Interior on civil penalties imposed on institutions that fail to comply with NAGPRA
• Administer grants to museums, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations in fulfilling NAGPRA
• Draft regulations to implement NAGPRA, in consultation with the Review Committee
• Provide guidance, training, and outreach to Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, museums, Federal agencies, and the public

Explore any of the program areas above or learn more about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.