Ethnology & History

NAGPRA Compliance

Policy

[From the UAMN Collections Management Policy, rev. 2023]

NATIVE AMERICAN REMAINS, SACRED OBJECTS, AND OBJECTS OF CULTURAL PATRIMONY

  1. UAMN will comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. §3001-13 (1990), 104 Stat. 3042, P.L. 101-106 and subsequent amendments.

  2. Museum staff will not intentionally collect Native American Ancestral remains or objects specified under the Act, unless written permission has been granted by the appropriate Native American tribe or official designee.

  3. The Museum may temporarily accept Native American Ancestral remains and objects specified under the Act for the purposes of identification, attribution, or legal custody.

  1. The Museum may accept Native American Ancestral remains and objects specified under the Act as per Trust Agreements made with Alaska Native tribes or official designees.

  2. Native American Ancestral remains and objects specified under the Act that are included in a gift, donation, bequest, or acquired as federally confiscated property, or in any other legal manner, will be held in trust by the Museum and,

    1. The appropriate Native American tribe will be notified by the Museum or federal agency owning the collection.

    2. The Museum will comply with the request of the appropriate Native American tribe or federal agency owning the collection as to the disposition of the material, providing the request is in accordance with the law.

 
Consultations

Since the passage of NAGPRA in 1990, the University of Alaska Museum of the North has conducted many consultations with Alaska Native communities and representatives of Native American tribes from the Lower-48.

If your tribe or federally-recognized entity is interested in conducting a consultation with the anthropological departments at UAMN, please contact the collections manager of archaeology or ethnology.