Alex Pearl on NAGPRA

M. Alexander Pearl has published “Corporeal Property and the Limits of NAGPRA” in the Fordham Law Review.

Here is an excerpt:

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act represents a pivotal but incomplete legislative effort to confront the enduring legacy of colonialism in the United States. NAGPRA addresses a specific and deeply troubling consequence of colonialism: the unlawful appropriation of Native American ancestors and cultural items by federal and federally funded institutions. Although it lays a critical foundation for repatriation and a sense of cultural justice, NAGPRA’s effectiveness is constrained by its grounding in Western legal traditions—especially its emphasis on corporeal, material property. To redress a wider range of harms suffered by Native communities, we must look beyond the statute’s current framework and embrace an expanded understanding of property, one that includes intangible rights based
in cultural harms and rights.

Michalyn Steele on NAGPRA and Protecting Sacred Sites

Michalyn Steele has posted “The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act as a Model of Cultural Sovereignty for Protecting Indigenous Sacred Sites” on SSRN.

Here is the abstract:

This Essay argues that NAGPRA provides a model for reassessing how to measure sacred site protection against competing values. Part I briefly maps the scope and history of Indigenous dispossession of sacred sites that has resulted in the unique challenges Indigenous people face in gaining access to and protection of these sites. Part II illustrates the values that most frequently compete with (and defeat) sacred site access and protection claims. Finally, Part III argues that NAGPRA offers a case study for reordering these values to recognize and prioritize the human rights and religious interests of Indigenous peoples in their sacred sites.

NAGPRA Review Committee FY2025 Report to Congress

Here:

NAGPRA Review Committee FY24 Report to Congress

Virginia Federal Court Dismisses Winnebago Effort to Reclaim Indian Children’s Remains

Here are the new pleadings in Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. United States Department of the Army (E.D.Va.):

45 Reply

50 DCT Order

Prior posts here and here.

Update in Winnebago Tribe Suit against the Army over Remains of Indian Child at Carlisle

Here are the new pleadings in Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. United States Department of the Army (E.D.Va.):

U.S. Senators’ Letter to UC-Berkeley re NAGPRA Non-Compliance

Here.

ProPublica background reporting here.

Texas Observer: “Bringing the Dead Home”

“Thirty years after Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, only a fraction of human remains held by Texas’ museums and universities have been returned.”

Here.

ASU Law: NAGPRA Panel on Nov. 16

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NAGPRA: 30 Years and Beyond

Monday, Nov. 16

12:00-1:30 p.m. MST

Join us as we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and explore new opportunities for building on this landmark legislation.

Guest speakers:
– Suzan Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee) – Writer/Curator/Policy Advocate/President, Morning Star Institute
– Shannon O’Loughlin (Choctaw) – Executive Director and Attorney, Association on American Indian Affairs
– James Riding In (Pawnee) – Founding Member and Associate Professor, American Indian Studies, Arizona State University

The State Bar of Arizona does not approve or accredit CLE activities for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirement. This activity may qualify for up to 1.0 hour toward your annual CLE requirement for the State Bar of Arizona.

Free webinar and open to the public.

Register for this free webinar at: law.asu.edu/nagpra 

NAGPRA 30 Years and Beyond

D.C. District Court Denies Manzanita Kumeyaay Effort to Stop Border Wall Construction

Here are the materials in Manzanita Band of Kumeyaay Indians v. Wolf (D.D.C.):

1 Complaint

7 Motion for TRO

16 Opposition

18 Reply

23 DCT Order