repatriation

What happened

Repatriation means returning human remains and cultural items to the people they came from. For Native nations in the United States, the main law is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. The National Park Service says Congress recognized that human remains of any ancestry "must at all times be treated with dignity and respect," and acknowledged that remains and other items removed from Federal or tribal lands "belong, in the first instance, to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations."

The statute turns that into a duty. When cultural affiliation with a particular tribe is shown, the agency or museum, on request, "shall expeditiously return" remains and associated funerary objects. The return is to be made in consultation with the requesting lineal descendant, tribe or organization "to determine the place and manner of delivery of such items."

In December 2023 the Interior Department published new regulations, effective January 12, 2024, to carry out the law. They require museums and federal agencies to defer to the Native American traditional knowledge of lineal descendants, tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, and they gave museums and agencies five years, rather than two as first proposed, to consult and update inventories.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error