NAGPRA

Michigan Daily: Indians and Profs Discuss New NAGPRA Regs

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Michigan Daily:

About 40 people met in East Hall Friday to participate in a roundtable discussion of the new regulations of the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act and the effects it will have on the repatriation process of culturally unidentifiable remains currently in the University’s possession.

NAGPRA — a federal law that has been in place since 1990 — requires museums to maintain lists of Native American artifacts in their possession, make those inventories available to the public and work with tribes to repatriate the artifacts.

Last month, a NAGPRA committee approved changes to the act that require museums — including the University’s Museum of Anthropology, which currently holds about 1,400 culturally unidentifiable remains — to consult with tribes from the areas where the culturally unidentifiable remains were exhumed and ultimately to return the remains.

The roundtable was hosted by the Ethnography-As-Activism Workgroup, a group comprised mostly of University graduate students that is part of the Rackham Interdisciplinary Workgroup program and is committed to using ethnography to promote activism.

The discussion, which coincided with the annual Dance For Mother Earth Powwow that was held over the weekend at Saline Middle School, aimed to focus on how the University will implement the new NAGPRA regulations, which go into effect next month.

Representatives from several tribes from across the state received a rousing applause from the group as they spoke passionately about the importance of having the remains currently in the University’s possession repatriated.

“It’s easy. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. Immoral is immoral,” one of the representatives said. “The law is on the side of (our) grandparents who lie in cardboard boxes. That’s where the spirit of that law is. Nobody else. This is why the Indian people of this state are alienated from this University — because of that single issue that the University is unwilling to discuss it with any of us.”

In addition the representatives, Toni Antonucci, chair of the University’s Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains under NAGPRA, Wenona Singel, associate director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University and University of Michigan Anthropology Prof. Stuart Kirsch each gave short presentations and helped facilitate a group discussion afterward.

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Scientists’ Suit over New NAGPRA Regs?

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Rob Capriccioso at ICT:

WASHINGTON – Scientists are considering a lawsuit against a new rule that would help repatriate thousands of Native American remains to tribes across the nation.

The rule, published March 15 and open for comment for 60 days, is a clarification from the Interior Department to the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. It states that after appropriate tribal consultation, transfer of culturally unidentifiable remains is to be made to a tribe from whose tribal or aboriginal lands the remains were excavated or removed. Civil penalties are proposed for museums and learning institutions that do not follow the law.

The development has been largely celebrated by Native American communities, although tribal advocates say it has shortcomings, like not including sacred culturally unidentifiable funerary objects in its scope. Some tribes are using the open comment period to make that concern known, noting that common law and some state laws require repatriation of such objects.

Some scientists, however, are outraged by the new rule, believing that important human knowledge could be lost if the remains go back to tribes.

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NAGPRA Review Committee Call for Information from Tribes about NAGPRA Compliance

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Federal Register: “For the May 14 meeting, the Review Committee is soliciting presentations by Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, museums, and Federal agencies on both the positive experiences and the barriers encountered with NAGPRA compliance. The deadline for submitting presentations on this topic is April 9, 2010. Electronic submissions are preferred, and are to be sent to: David_Tarler@ nps.gov.

Mailed submissions are to be sent to:
Designated Federal Officer, NAGPRA
Review Committee, National Park
Service, National NAGPRA Program,
1201 Eye Street, NW., 8th Floor (2253),
Washington, DC 20005.

NAGPRA Repatriation Roundtable at University of Michigan — April 9

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

REPATRIATION ROUNDTABLE

MOVING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

Friday, April 9

2:30-3:30pm

4448 East Hall

With the new federal regulations of Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) regarding “culturally unidentifiable” human remains becoming law in May, this roundtable, sponsored by the Ethnography-as-Activism Repatriation Subgroup, seeks to explore the University of Michigan’s future in the process of implementing these new regulations.

Please join us for short presentations from our panelists followed by what we hope is an engaging conversation.

Speakers:

  • Dean Toni Antonucci
    • Chair, Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains (CUHR) under NAGPRA; Associate Vice President for Research – Social Sciences and Humanities; Professor, Department of Psychology; and Research Professor, Institute for Social Research
  • Professor Wenona Singel
    • Assistant Professor of Law & Associate Director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center at Michigan State University
  • Professor Stuart Kirsch
    • Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, UM

For more information about our group and about NAGPRA, please visit our website:


“The institution could not have a future with tribes until it had resolved its past”
Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh, Anthropology News, March 2010

Michigan Daily Article on NAGPRA Compliance

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Daily:

The University is set to begin implementing a process that will see the transfer of Native American human remains to Indian tribes, according to a University press release sent out today.

The decision came after a March 15 ruling by the United States Department of the Interior concerning how museums and other agencies — including the University — should deal with unidentified Native American human remains.

Under the terms of the ruling, unidentifiable remains must be returned to the tribes from whose land the remains were originally excavated, the press release stated.

The University currently possesses about 1,400 unidentified remains, according to the release.

Stephen Forrest, the University’s Vice President for Research, wrote in the release that the University is currently developing a process for the transfer of the remains.

“The rule change announced last week provides a clear path for the transfer of the human remains in our possession,” Forrest wrote in the release. “We will move down that path in a transparent, swift and respectful manner.”

The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology currently possesses unidentifiable remains from 37 states, according to the release.

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Univ. of Michigan Press Release on NAGPRA Compliance

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here, from the UM Record Update.

The text:

U-M has begun outlining a process for the transfer of Native American human remains to Indian tribes.

Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest said the most recent activities are in response to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s March 15 publication of a final rule clarifying how museums and other agencies — including the university — should handle Native American human remains that are under their control but for which no culturally affiliated Indian tribe has been identified.

Other resources
• Web site of the Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains under NAGPRA
• Culturally Unidentifiable Native American Inventory Database for the U-M Musem of Anthopology

“Now that the Department of the Interior has clarified the rule for transferring culturally unidentifiable human remains, it is important that the university reach out to tribal leaders and facilitate the transfer process,” Forrest said.

Forrest said he anticipates having a process in place by the time the new federal rule takes effect May 14. The university has in its possession the remains of about 1,390 individuals unidentifiable with an existing tribe.

“The rule change recently announced provides a clear path for the transfer of the human remains in our possession,” Forrest said. “We will move down that path in a transparent, swift and respectful manner.” Officials and traditional religious leaders will be included in the consultation process. A letter to relevant tribes will be sent soon. Continue reading →

Michigan Daily on U-M’s Response to New NAGPRA Regs

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Excerpt from the Michigan Daily:

* * *

LSA sophomore Alys Alley, the co-chair of the Native American Student Association at the University, wrote in an e-mail interview that she and other members of the group believe that the new rule will mean that the culturally unidentifiable remains in the University’s possession will be returned to their respective tribes.

“Many of those remains that are held by the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology are the ancestors of the Native American students on campus, including myself, and I can say confidently that we are looking forward to the return of our ancestor’s remains to our communities,” she wrote.

She added that the status of the “culturally unidentifiable” remains in the University’s possession has caused a lot of tension between the University and Native American groups in Michigan.

“This whole situation with the 1,390 Native American human remains in the U of M Museum of Anthropology has caused a lot of pain for the Native American community; we have struggled to see our ancestors return home for many years,” she wrote.

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New NAGPRA Regs Forcing U-M to Re-examine Its Museum Holdings

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Ann Arbor.com (formerly the Ann Arbor News):

The University of Michigan will have to re-examine its holdings of Native American human remains under a change to federal guidelines announced today.

The U-M Museum of Anthropology has about 1,400 human remains in a storage facility that are 800 to 3,000 years old.

The 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, known as NAGPRA, requires museums, federal agencies and institutions to inventory holdings of human remains and identify their cultural affiliations with tribes. Native groups can then claim the return of remains deemed to be culturally affiliated with them.

031510_native_american_remains.jpg

Frank Bartley III, an Odawa Indian and a U-M student, beats the drum and sings with other Native Americans in front of Fleming Hall in Ann Arbor before a U-M regents meeting in this 2008 file photo. The gathering was part of a request to the regents to return Native-American remains.

Ann Arbor News file photo

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New Final Regs on Culturally Unidentifiable Remains under NAGPRA

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here.

Congrats to Sherry Hutt!!!!!

Eric Hemenway Column on Cultural Preservation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From the Petoskey News-Review:

My name is Eric Hemenway and I am an Anishnaabe/Odawa from Cross Village. I work in the Archive/Records and Cultural Preservation Department for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians here in Emmet County. I am very fortunate to have such a diverse job that involves cultural preservation for my tribe — but cultural preservation is a very broad term that covers many different areas. One aspect of the Odawa culture that I focus on in my work is the caretaking for our dead. Respecting and honoring our ancestors who have passed on is a fundamental element of our identity as Odawa and has been with our tribe for countless generations. I have the opportunity to carry on this tradition in a unique way by working in my department.

The federal law NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) enables tribes to reclaim human remains and sacred items associated to their respective tribal communities. These remains and items are housed in museums and universities throughout the country. What I do is locate where the remains are, submit claims and if all goes well, retrieve the remains and rebury them. We also submit claims for sacred items affiliated to our tribe. Repatriating remains is a difficult task, but a necessary one, because it ties in with our belief the dead need to be taken care of. This is a new dilemma tribes across the country have to deal with, having their ancestors taken from their final resting places and placed in boxes on shelves, to be examined and documented in manners the tribes deem as inappropriate and disrespectful. But we have the opportunity to get these old ones back and we at LTBB Odawa have made it a priority to do so. It’s sad yet rewarding work. Sad to know the history of how museums acquired these remains and the fact our dead were not given the proper respect as groups, yet rewarding to finally lay them to rest, again, and finally see our beliefs being recognized.

Along with work in NAGPRA, I also take care of several Odawa cemeteries within our reservation boundary. Many of these cemeteries are in very rustic, rural areas. The grass needs to be mowed, dead trees taken out, crossed fixed and replaced. When I first started my job in 2006, I never would have thought I would be working so much with the dead, but that’s my job now. Other people work in the Odawa language, with the youth, elders, education, housing, education, etc. I just happen to work with the ones who have passed on. Hopefully someday all our ancestors will be returned and all the tribes across the country can have that piece of their tribe back. And when that days comes, I am sure my job will change into something else, but in the meantime, there are thousands of Anishnaabe that need to come back home.

Here is Eric’s outstanding blog!