Washington, DC - The National Park Service announced the award of more than $1.5 million in Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Program repatriation and consultation grants.  Thirty-seven grants were awarded to 15 Indian tribes and 16 museums to assist in the identification, documentation, and return of ancestral remains and cultural objects in museum collections to Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.

“These grants address the basic desire to have stewardship over one’s own heritage,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.  “The NAGRPA process provides the opportunity for ancestral remains and cultural items to be returned to American Indian and Native Hawaiian peoples.”

Projects funded include the repatriation of more than 300 ancestors and numerous funerary and traditional items to Indian tribes across the United States, travel by Indian tribal representatives to consultations with museums holding potentially affiliated remains and other cultural items, specialized training for both museums and tribes on NAGPRA, and the development of a tribal coalition to collaborate and facilitate the repatriation of significant collections currently in museums.

Enacted in 1990, NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to inventory and identify Native American human remains and cultural objects in their collections, and to consult with Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and Native Hawaiian organizations regarding repatriation.  Section 10 of the Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to assist in implementing provisions of the Act.

A list of 2015 grant recipients is below: