Module 14 - Language Repatriation

In Module 14, there was an introduction video to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. This act, although primarily focused on human remains, can be applied towards other cultural materials such as languages.

Enacted in 1990, the NAGPRA’s purpose was “To provide for the protection of Native American graves, and for other purposes”, according to their website. It provided ways for Native American tribes and Native Hawaiians to reclaim “human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony”, as stated on their website. Only federally recognized tribes and Native Hawaiians are eligible to make requests.

The process consists of three major steps:

            -Federal agencies idenfity and catalog items that may be subject to be returned under NAGPRA

            -Federal agencies consult with Native American tribes and Native Hawaiians to determine whether the item in question should be returned

            -Federal agencies send notices to Native American tribes and Natives Hawaiians to notify them that the item can be returned. These notices must be published by the Secretary of the Interior.

To date, the estimate of items returned is over 50,000 human remains, over 1.1 million funerary objects, almost 5,000 sacred objects, and over 9,000 other items. These are just estimates, since agencies who return items are not required to report to a central authority, just record the requests on their own.

References:

National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. 2017. National NAGRPA Home. https://www.nps.gov/nagpra/