NAGPRA – Page 5 – Turtle Talk

In many ways, the German association is drawing on the experiences of museums in Britain and the United States, which started facing claims for the repatriation of human remains decades ago. The Smithsonian began to repatriate American Indian bones in the late 1980s, and in 1990 the United States passed legislation to enforce the return of those remains by museums that benefit from federal funds. The Smithsonian independently returned remains to Australia in 2008 and 2010.

However, a report in 2011 from the Government Accountability Office still urged new measures to speed up the Smithsonian’s work, because by then it had returned only 5,000 remains, about one-third of its collection of such material.

Borough to Appeal Jim Thorpe Ruling because It’s Cheaper to Do So

May 10, 2013May 10, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here, via How Appealing.

Judge Orders Repatriation of Jim Thorpe’s Remains under NAGPRA

April 21, 2013April 22, 2013Andrew Adams III4 Comments

Judge Caputo (Mid. Dist. Penn.) entered an order granting a complete summary judgment in favor of Bill and Richard Thorpe and the Sac and Fox Nation in the litigation to repatriate the remains of Jim Thorpe pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The judge concluded that NAGPRA applies to the remains of Jim Thorpe and to the Borough, and he also ruled that the passage of time between the enactment of NAGPRA and the filing of this case did not prevent a repatriation. This is a very significant ruling under NAGPRA, and it should be helpful to tribes in the future because it addresses and rejects some so-called defenses to NAGPRA that could be used to impede repatriation efforts.

Memorandum Decision

Order

Update w/ materials:

Borough Motion for Summary J

Sac and Fox Nation Motion for Summary J

Borough Response

Sac and Fox Nation Response