NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES PROTECTION
AND REPATRIATION ACT

On November 16, 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) became law.  This law (Section 3001 through 3015 of Volume 25 of the United States Code):

• Establishes procedures and legal standards for the repatriation of human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony by federal agencies and certain museums, educational and other institutions, and state and local governments. 
• Recognizes certain Tribal, Native Hawaiian and individual rights in regard to burial sites located on federal and Tribal lands.

This federal Act is based upon the unique relationship between Native Americans and the federal government.

Since the passage of this law, federal agencies, museums, educational institutions, and state and local governments have contacted the Tribe when objects falling under NAGPRA are discovered, intentionally or inadvertently, within collections specific to each organization.

To assess the large volume of notifications from every agency, a Repatriation Committee was formed on March 4, 1997.  The objective of the Repatriation Committee is to exercise the powers of NAGPRA for the sole purpose of returning to the Tribe, Peoria human remains, sacred objects, funerary objects and objects of cultural patrimony.

In 2009 the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma received a NAGPRA Grant through the National Park Service for documentation of culturally affiliated funerary objects held in federally funded institutions which are required to comply with NAGPRA.  The grant provides funding for a partial salaried employee position with the Peoria Tribe to identify, photograph and digitize records of artifacts to be made available to tribal members.

Submitted by:
NAGPRA Committee