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National NAGPRA Database

 

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In the context of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), museums and Federal agencies are required to identify cultural items in their collections that are subject to NAGPRA, and prepare inventories and summaries of the items. These inventories are then published in the Federal Register as:

  • Notice of Inventory Completion
  • Notice of Intent to Repatriate
  • Notice of Intended Disposition

To assist these institutions, NPS Archaeological Assistance Program and CAST created in 1993 the NADB-NAGPRA, a searchable online database for these notices. In 1996, NADB-NAGPRA was moved to a web interface. CAST maintained and hosted NADB-NAGPRA until 2006. 

The NPS National NAGPRA Program now hosts these databases at: 

http://www.nps.gov/history/nagpra/ONLINEDB/INDEX.HTM. 

Description of the NAGPRA notices

A Notice of Inventory Completion is published when a museum or Federal agency has made a determination of cultural affiliation for Native American human remains and associated funerary objects in its possession or control. By law these were due November 1995.

A Notice of Intent to Repatriate is published when a museum or Federal agency, in consultation with tribes, receives, reviews, and accepts a claim by a tribe for sacred objects, unassociated funerary objects, or objects of cultural patrimony.

A Notice of Intended Disposition is published in newspapers by the Federal agency official responsible for cultural items excavated or removed from Federal lands. The responsible Federal agency official must send copies of published Notices of Intended Disposition to National NAGPRA.

 

Description of NAGPRA

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is a Federal law passed in 1990. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony -- to lineal descendants, and culturally affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. NAGPRA includes provisions for unclaimed and culturally unidentifiable Native American cultural items, intentional and inadvertent discovery of Native American cultural items on Federal and tribal lands, and penalties for noncompliance and illegal trafficking. In addition, NAGPRA authorizes Federal grants to Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and museums to assist with the documentation and repatriation of Native American cultural items, and establishes the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee to monitor the NAGPRA process and facilitate the resolution of disputes that may arise concerning repatriation under NAGPRA.

 

Description of the repatriation process under NAGPRA

The principle steps of the NAGPRA repatriation process include -- * Federal agencies and museums must identify cultural items in their collections that are subject to NAGPRA, and prepare inventories and summaries of the items. * Federal agencies and museums must consult with lineal descendants, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations regarding the identification and cultural affiliation of the cultural items listed in their NAGPRA inventories and summaries. * Federal agencies and museums must send notices to lineal descendants, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations describing cultural items and lineal descendancy or cultural affiliation, and stating that the cultural items may be repatriated. The law requires the Secretary of the Interior to publish these notices in the Federal Register. For more information, go to Law and Regulations.