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Faculty Mentor
Kent Johnson
Abstract
There is a well-documented history of US state institutions possessing Indigenous human remains and cultural artifacts without consent from descendant communities. Since the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act’s (NAGPRA) establishment in 1990, institutions have been required by law to repatriate these remains back to their rightful communities, but today there are still many cases of repatriation that remain uncompleted.
To evaluate NAGPRA’S effectiveness in New York State, I investigated repatriation efforts on 64 SUNY campuses. I examined campus involvement concerning NAGPRA by collecting data on NAGPRA Coordinators at SUNY campuses and collections held by their departments and museums that potentially fall under the realm of NAGPRA. I am also analyzing the index of repatriation reports in the Federal Register, while writing a literature review that includes legislation. Results will help measure NAGPRA’s effectiveness of sparking repatriation efforts
from the perspectives of all parties involved, including Indigenous descendant communities.
Publication Date
4-2024
Document Type
Book
Keywords
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, NAGPRA, effectiveness, Indigenous
Disciplines
Anthropology