Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN ACT
On November 28, 1989, the President signed into Public
Law 101-185,
the National Museum of the American Indian Act. This law
established a
museum for the American Indian to be built as part of the
Smithsonian
Institution. Testimony received during consideration
of this
legislation revealed that the Smithsonian Institution held
thousands of
Native American human remains and funerary objects. Several
tribes and
Native Hawaiians having cultural and historical affiliation
with these
remains stressed their great desire to have the remains
of their
ancestors returned to them. After long negotiations between
interested
parties, provisions were included in the legislation which
authorized
the repatriation of identifiable remains and funerary objects.
H.R. 1381 NATIVE AMERICAN BURIAL SITE PRESERVATION ACT OF
1989
On March 14, 1989, Representative Charles Bennett
introduced H.R.
1381, the Native American Burial Site Preservation Act of
1989. This
bill would prohibit excavations or removal of any content
from any
Native American burial site without a State permit. The
bill provides
penalties for violation with fines of not more than
$10,000 per
violation. The bill provided that anything taken in
violation of the
legislation would become the property of the United States.
H.R. 1646 NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVE AND BURIAL PROTECTION
ACT
On March 23, 1989, Representative Morris Udall introduced
H.R. 1646,
the Native American Grave and Burial Protection Act. This
bill would
make it illegal to sell, profit, or transport across state
lines any
Native American skeletal remains without written consent of
the lineal
descendants or of the governing body of the culturally
affiliated tribe.
Penalties of fines of not more than $10,000 per violation
would be
assessed.
The bill would require all Federal agencies and
instrumentalities to
list and identify, within 2 years, all Native American
skeletal remains
and sacred ceremonial objects in their possession or control.
Within 3
years, all agencies would notify appropriate tribes of
their findings
and, within 1 year of notification, the concerned tribe
would decide
whether or not it wanted the remains or objects returned. If
the items
were not acquired with the consent of the tribe or legitimate
owner and
the item is not needed for a scientific study the outcome of
which would
be of major benefit to the United States, the items are to be
returned.
Any museum not in compliance would not be eligible for
further Federal
funding.
H.R. 5237 NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVE PROTECTION AND
REPATRIATION ACT
After the negotiations by the museum, Indian and
scientific
communities were completed, Representative Morris Udall
introduced H.R
5237, the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation
Act, on July
10, 1990. As introduced, this bill states that any Native
American
human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and
objects of
inalienable communal property that are found on Federal or
tribal lands
after the date of enactment would be considered owned or
controlled by
(in this order) lineal descendants, the tribe on whose
land it was
found, the tribe having the closest cultural affiliation with
the item,
or the tribe which aboriginally occupied the area.
Anyone who discovered any of the items covered by the
provisions of
the bill accidentally or through activities such as mining,
logging, or
construction would have to cease the activity, notify the
Federal land
manager responsible and the appropriate tribe, if known,
and make a
reasonable effort to protect the items before continuing the
activity.
Anyone who profited in violation of the provisions of the
bill would
be fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code,
imprisoned not
more than one year, or both, with the penalty increasing to 5
years for
a second violation.
All Federal agencies and museums receiving Federal funds
which have
control over any of the items covered in the bill would,
within 5 years,
have to inventory and identify the items, notify the affected
tribes and
make arrangements to return such items if the appropriate
tribe made a
request. If the Federal agency or museum shows that the
item was
acquired with the consent of the tribe or if the item was
part of a
scientific study which was expected to be of major
benefit to the
country, the request for repatriation could be denied.
As introduced, this bill established a review
committee to be
composed of 7 members, 4 of whom were to be from nominations
made to the
Secretary of the Interior from Indian tribes, Native
Hawaiian
organizations, and traditional Native American religious
leaders. The
committee's responsibilities would be to monitor the
inventory and
repatriation activities, review any questions as to the
identity or
return of any items, arbitrate among tribes any disputes
relating to
this Act, and compile an inventory of unidentifiable
remains and
recommend action for disposition of such remains.
Grants were made available to tribes to assist in the
repatriation
process and to museums to assist in the inventory and
identification
process.
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