The Law in Context
A process — does not exist as a single event. Understanding the law's structure and legislative history.
The Process
NAGPRA established a process — not a single event. Institutions are required to consult with tribes, publish notices in the Federal Register, and transfer items upon request. But the law's implementation has been uneven, slow, and at times contested. Understanding its structure helps make sense of what this map is showing. These steps do not, by any means, cover the entire process, but provide a digestible understanding of key points in the repatriation process.
Step 1
Inventory & Summary
Institutions must compile inventories of human remains and associated funerary objects, and written summaries of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and cultural patrimony. These must be shared with potentially affiliated tribes.
Step 2
Consultation
Institutions are required to consult with Tribal Representatives to determine cultural affiliation. This process is meant to be collaborative — though in practice it varies widely in quality and good faith.
Step 3
Federal Register Notice
Once affiliation is determined, institutions publish a Notice of Inventory Completion or Notice of Intent to Repatriate in the Federal Register, making the affiliation claim a matter of public record. This is the primary data source for this project.
Step 4
Transfer & Repatriation
After a 30-day waiting period following Federal Register publication, the institution may transfer the items to the affiliated tribe or lineal descendants. Physical transfer, however, is just one part of a longer relationship.
Legislative History
1989
National Museum of the American Indian Act
Congress passes NMAIA, requiring the Smithsonian Institution to inventory and repatriate Native American collections — a precursor to broader NAGPRA legislation.
1990
NAGPRA Enacted
Signed into law on November 16, 1990, NAGPRA extends repatriation obligations to all federally funded institutions and establishes protections for Native American graves on federal and Tribal lands.
1995
Implementing Regulations Published
The Department of the Interior publishes final NAGPRA regulations (43 C.F.R. Part 10), establishing procedures for inventories, consultation, and repatriation.
2010
Disposition of Culturally Unidentifiable Remains
New regulations address the long-standing problem of "culturally unidentifiable" human remains — a category that had stalled repatriation for tens of thousands of individuals.
2023
Revised NAGPRA Regulations
The publication of sweeping revisions to NAGPRA regulations, aimed at strengthening Tribal consultation requirements and shifting the burden of proof toward institutions.