Considerations for Developing Collaborative Policies on NAGPRA, Repatriation, and the Care of Ancestors and Cultural Items
Open accessAbstract
The recent increased attention on repatriation efforts and compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) has placed many institutions in the same position—needing internal policies concerning research, exhibition, duty of care, and the eventual repatriation and return of cultural items held within their respective institutions. We argue that these policies should be created and carried out in a truly consultative, transparent, and respectful manner that includes Tribal perspectives and knowledge. Repatriation policies are not one size fits all but rather should reflect the holdings of specific institutions, as well as input from Tribal Nations whose Ancestors and cultural heritage they steward. This article brings together repatriation practitioners from five different institutions who share their experiences in creating collaborative repatriation policies and extending them to non-NAGPRA collections. These practitioners highlight some important considerations for those developing policies on exhibition and research, the care of Ancestors, their cultural items, and associated materials, and eventual repatriation. Our goal is to provide useful examples for those who are currently developing policies centered on repatriation, together with care practices, curation, and collections management., ResumenLa reciente atención a los esfuerzos de repatriación y cumplimiento de la Ley de Protección y Repatriación de Tumbas de Nativos Americanos (NAGPRA) ha puesto a muchas instituciones en la misma situación: se necesitan políticas internas relativas a la investigación, exhibición, el deber de cuidado y la eventual repatriación y devolución de los bienes culturales que se conservan en las respectivas instituciones. Argumentamos que estas políticas deben crearse e implementarse de manera verdaderamente consultiva, transparente y respetuosa, incluyendo las perspectivas y el conocimiento tribal. Las políticas de repatriación no son uniformes, sino que deben reflejar los recursos de cada institución, así como los aportes de socios tribales cuyos ancestros y patrimonio cultural están custodiados en dichas instituciones. Este documento reúne a profesionales en repatriación de cinco instituciones diferentes que comparten sus experiencias en la creación de políticas de repatriación colaborativas y su aplicación a colecciones no pertenecientes a la ley NAGPRA. Estos profesionales destacan algunas consideraciones importantes para quienes desarrollan políticas sobre exhibición e investigación, el cuidado de los ancestros, sus bienes culturales y materiales asociados, y la eventual repatriación. Nuestro objetivo es proporcionar ejemplos útiles para quienes actualmente están desarrollando políticas centradas en la repatriación junto con prácticas de cuidado, tratamiento y gestión de colecciones.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Operationalizing the CARE and FAIR Principles for Indigenous data futures
Carroll, S. R., Herczog, E., Hudson, M., Russell, K., & Stall, S. (2021) · Scientific Data · doi:10.1038/s41597-021-00892-0 · Cited by 483 · see citing works
Indigenous Research Methods: A Systematic Review
Drawson, A. S., Toombs, E., & Mushquash, C. J. (2017) · International Indigenous Policy Journal · doi:10.18584/iipj.2017.8.2.5 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Nicholson, C., Kansa, S. W., Gupta, N., & Fernandez, R. (2023) · Advances in Archaeological Practice · doi:10.1017/aap.2022.40 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
NAGPRA at 30: The Effects of Repatriation
Nash, S. E., & Colwell, C. (2020) · Annual Review of Anthropology · doi:10.1146/annurev-anthro-010220-075435 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Rosoff, N. B. (1998) · Museum Anthropology · doi:10.1525/mua.1998.22.1.33 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
LOST AND FOUND: NAGPRA, Scattered Relics, and Restorative Methodologies
Bruchac, M. (2010) · Museum Anthropology · doi:10.1111/j.1548-1379.2010.01092.x · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Colwell, C. (2015) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/683429 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Windchief, S. R., & Cummins, J. D. (2021) · Qualitative Inquiry · doi:10.1177/10778004211021803 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Digital Repatriation as a Decolonizing Practice in the Archaeological Archive
Krupa, K. L., & Grimm, K. T. (2021) · Across the Disciplines · doi:10.37514/atd-j.2021.18.1-2.05 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
The NAGPRA Nexus, Institutional Integrity, and the Evolving Role of Archaeological Laboratories
Roberts Thompson, A., Thompson, V. D., Garland, C. J., Butler, R. A., deBeaubien, D., Panther, M., Hunt, T., Wendt, L., Fontenot, R., Langley, L., et al. (2023) · Advances in Archaeological Practice · doi:10.1017/aap.2022.43 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationCreating a new future: Redeveloping the tribal-museum relationship in the time of NAGPRA
Teeter, W. G., Martinez, D., & Lippert, D. (2021) · International Journal of Cultural Property · doi:10.1017/s0940739121000242 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Repatriation: A Pawnee’s Perspective
In, J. R. (1996) · American Indian Quarterly · doi:10.2307/1185703 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Marsh, D. E. (2022) · Archival Science · doi:10.1007/s10502-021-09378-9 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
NAGPRA: Effective Repatriation Programs and Cultural Change in Museums
Sullivan, T. J., Abraham, M., & Griffin, D. J. G. (2000) · Curator The Museum Journal · doi:10.1111/j.2151-6952.2000.tb01717.x · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Collaborating Beyond Collections: Engaging Tribes in Museum Exhibits
Goff, S., Chapoose, B., Cook, E. L., & Voirol, S. (2019) · Advances in Archaeological Practice · doi:10.1017/aap.2019.11 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Wheeler, R., Arsenault, J., & Taylor, M. (2022) · Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals · doi:10.1177/15501906211072916 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Domeischel, J., & Neller, A. J. (2024) · Advances in Archaeological Practice · doi:10.1017/aap.2023.40 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Repatriation, Public Programming, and the DEAI Toolkit
Bazan, E., Black, S. W., Thurn, N., & Usbeck, F. (2021) · Journal of Museum Education · doi:10.1080/10598650.2020.1847501 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Barnes, B. J., & Warren, S. (2022) · State University of New York Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781438489957 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
The National Museum of the American Indian Perspectives on Museums in the 21st Century
West, W. (1994) · Museum Anthropology · doi:10.1525/mua.1994.18.3.53 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Kennedy-Richardson, K. O., Posas, A. L., Posadas, L., & Bardolph, P. (2017) · Advances in Archaeological Practice · doi:10.1017/aap.2017.19 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science Repatriation Initiative
NASH, S. E., & COLWELL, C. (2022) · Profiles of Anthropological Praxis · doi:10.2307/jj.7079901.12 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Repatriation as a Catalyst for Building Community-Engaged Curriculum
Sievert, A. K., & Ryker-Crawford, J. (2022) · Replanting Cultures · doi:10.1515/9781438489957-013
Native Voices at the National Museum of the American Indian: Representation and Renewal
CHAMPAGNE, D. (2011) · Past, Present, and Future · doi:10.2307/j.ctv2v3mh83.8
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 13
- Bruchac, 2018, Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 162, 56
- Riding In, 2008, Graves Protection and Repatriation: An Unresolved Universal Human Rights Problem Affected by Institutional Racism, Treganza Museum Occasional Papers, 24, 37
- 2005, Community Services Program Guide: 2005–2006. Manuscript on file, National Museum of the American Indian
- Eddy, 2024, Indigenizing Archaeology: Putting Theory into Practice, 3
- Johnson, Jessica S. , Bernstein, Bruce , and Henry, James Pepper . 2006. Working with Native Communities and the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian: Theory and Practice. In Of the Past, for the Future: Integrating Archaeology and Conservation, Proceedings of the Conservation Theme at the 5th World Archaeological Congress, edited by Neville Agnew and Janet Bridgland, pp. 216–219. Getty Publications, Los Angeles, California.
- Merritt, 2024, The First Horizon: Understanding the State of Voluntary Repatriation, Restitution, and Reparations Today
- Fine-Dare, 2002, Grave Injustice: The American Indian Repatriation Movement and NAGPRA
- Atalay, 2012, Community-Based Archaeology: Research with, by, and for Indigenous and Local Communities
- Boydston-Schmidt, 2024, Indigenizing Archaeology: Putting Theory into Practice, 96
- 2022, MSU NAGPRA Policy and Procedures
- Covell-Murthy, 2021, Human Remains Policies for Museums: Who Needs One, Who Has One, and How Do You Create One? Capstone in the Field of Museum Studies
- Lonetree, 2012, Decolonizing Museums: Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums
- Van Alst, 2024, Indigenizing Archaeology: Putting Theory into Practice
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Pathways to Repatriation for NAGPRA Practitioners: Introduction
Yann, J., Domeischel, J., Roberts Thompson, A., & Schreiner, N. M. (2025) · Advances in Archaeological Practice · doi:10.1017/aap.2025.10107 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationGuiding the Next Generation of NAGPRA Practitioners: Formalizing Undergraduate NAGPRA Education
Caseldine, C. R., Rothwell, J. E., Blaszynski, B. O., Dahlstedt, A. C., Tappan, K. K., Vega, Z., Hartman, S., Wilhelm, K. E., & Deer, M. (2026) · Advances in Archaeological Practice · doi:10.1017/aap.2026.10149
Philosophically Aligned, Operationally Fractured: Duty-Of-Care In NAGPRA Practice
Ensign, M. (2026) · ScholarWorks (Central Washington University)
- Authors
- Garland, C. J., Alapisco, D. M., Arbolino, R., Sieg, L., Covell-Murthy, A., Edwards, B., & Yann, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Georgia (US)
- Oregon State University (US)
- National Museum of the American Indian (US)
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History (US)
- The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Garland, Carey J.
- Venue
- Advances in Archaeological Practice
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2025-08
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 394-408
- ISSN
- 2326-3768 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W7106821247
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 5.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Advances in Archaeological Practice (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Cultural Identity and Heritage
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Indigenous Cultures and History
- Keywords
- NAGPRA, repatriation, repatriation policy, cultural heritage, tribal consultation, curation, collection management
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
