NAGPRA
A (very) short explanation
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The Timeline
From the first time settlers arrived in North America to 1990 somewhere between 300,000 to 2,500,000
Natives were stolen from their graves.
In 1990 NAGPRA (The Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act) was put into law with the
intent of providing Natives to reclaim their ancestor’s remains, the items they were buried with, and other
culturally significant items.
Until 2010, anybody in possession of Native remains that could not be identified as belonging to a specific
tribe could legally deny requests to reclaim the bodies.
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For more information on that, go to umgraveinjustice.wordpress.com
Due to situations like those, an amendment to NAGPRA was made stating that any unidentified remains must
be returned to the tribe whose ancestral lands are the ones the remains were stolen from.
The problem did not end there.
While NAGPRA provides for situations in which an organization refuses to return Native belongings, it does not:
• Prevent organizations from refusing to report their collections in the first place.
• Prevent organizations from mistreating belongings and remains while they are in their possession.
• Provide significant punishment to organizations who do not comply.
• Provide for remains or burial items in the possession of private individuals.
In recent history
The Carnegie building. Photo taken by Brandon Bartoszek.
In Traverse City, MI, there was found to be a
huge collection of Native cultural items found stored within the
basement of the Carnegie building. This collection was not
inventoried, it was not reported to appropriate Native tribes, and
it was not cared for. That collection was named for the man who
amassed the items, Con Foster, a well respected figure in
Traverse City history. It is questionable that this collection was
actually unknown by the city officials.
In a 2013 article celebrating the man it stated,
“The following year, he earned accolades from the Grand
Traverse Band for his preservation work (and today his
collection has grown to some 10,000 artifacts, many still on
display at the History Center of Traverse City).” (Bernhard, Erin.)
Clearly, this collection was known, well before it was ‘discovered’
beneath Carnegie.
Many scientists, anthropologists, and other individuals believe they should have possession of Native
remains on the grounds of scientific study. These people should not have possession of native remains,
regardless of what scientific value they believe they have, because:
1. It violates the Native people’s freedom of religion by not allowing Native’s to perform burial rites
for their ancestors.
2. It denies the humanity of the peoples who's possessions and remains they are collecting.
3. It denies the Native peoples the ability to tell their own history.
“NAGPRA was not created as legislation that pits science vs. culture. It was clearly articulated as
human rights legislation.” (Native Caucus.)
What can you do?
Demand that your schools, museums, and other organizations be held accountable
for the return of native remains and belongings. Spread the word and make sure
these organizations know that this is unacceptable.
#DontIgnoreThisEMU
Milligan, Beth. "What's Next For The Con Foster Collection?" The Ticker Traverse City Michigan News & Events: The Ticker. The Business News, 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 17
Oct. 2015.
Bernhard, Erin. "Who Was Con Foster?" The Ticker Traverse City Michigan News & Events: The Ticker. The Business News, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
"NAGPRA | Indians of the Midwest." Indians of the Midwest RSS. Indians of the Midwest, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Brown, Dylan. "The Spoils of Wars and Massacres: NAGPRA 25 Years Later." Indian Country Today Media Network. Indian Country Today Media Network, LLC, 9 June
"Nagpra." Nagpra. The Regents of the University of Michigan. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. Native Caucus. "University of Michigan's Grave Injustice." University of Michigans
2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
Grave Injustice. 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
"City in Michigan Keeps Collection of Indian Items in Basement."Indianz.com - Your Internet Resource. Noble Savage Media, LLC and Ho-Chunk, Inc., 23 Mar. 2015. Web. Rickert, Levi. "IN CONTROL OF MUSEUM FOR 115 YEARS, 41 ANCESTRAL REMAINS GIVEN RETURNED HOME AND GIVEN PROPER REBURIAL."Native News Online. Native
17 Oct. 2015.
News Online, 25 May 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
Lonetree, Amy. Decolonizing Museums Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina, 2012. Print.
United States. National Park Service. "National NAGPRA Frequently Asked Questions." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Merlin, Michelle. "Tribal Members Hope for Return on Con Foster Items." The Record Eagle. Traverse City Record-Eagle, 25 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
United States. National Park Service. "National Park Service Archeology Program." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 2000. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
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