Testimony of the Society for American Archaeology Before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies

The goal of the Grants Program is “to increase the number of successful repatriations through the support for projects that increase the ability of tribes and museums to facilitate consultation and work together through the NAGPRA process.” As the process has evolved, with increasingly productive relationships developing between the various parties in consultation and repatriation efforts, the imp. [...] As the Curator of Anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science states: “I believe that museums have a deep ethical obligation to proactively address the legacies of collecting, and the NAGPRA Grants program is a vital means of enabling museums to fulfill their duties as stewards and caretakers. [...] When tribes see that museums are genuinely committed to NAGPRA, both the spirit and the letter of the law, new friendships and partnerships can develop.” If the grants are reduced, the very growth of collaboration and consultation that the enactment of NAGPRA was designed to facilitate will be endangered. [...] For instance, in the “Journeys to Repatriation” report, institutions such as the Burke Museum at the University of Washington “ha[ve] dedicated in excess of one million of its own funding in compliance with NAGPRA.” The grants received from the NAGPRA Program have enabled the Burke Museum to supplement its funding and to assist in such important facets of the repatriation process as consultations. [...] In the report they state that one of the obstacles to successful repatriation efforts is the lack of training available to not only Indian tribes, but also to museums and agencies who must comply with the Act.