Progress Slow for Law on Tribal Remains, Sacred Objects

The Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act was a landmark human rights law when it was enacted 25 years ago: mandating that federal agencies return American Indian remains and sacred objects collected during a long history of colonialism and mistreatment of American Indians. But the law has been "stymied by poorly curated collections, long-lost records and limited operating budgets," E&E Publishing's Dyland Brown reports. NAGPRA was enacted without funding, and "limited budgets, legal expertise and access to land for reburial create a gulf between the number of items available for repatriation and those physically returned." The Government Accountability Office has found that there is poor compliance with NAGPRA, including poor curation practices by federal agencies and federally funded museums and poor documentation of American Indian remains and sacred objects.