Who Owns the Dead?

Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act

Luis Salas

History

• State Statutory Law: Historically, states only regulated and protected marked graves. Native American graves were often unmarked and did not receive the protection provided by these statutes.

• This law did not often take into account the unique Native American practices concerning graves and other burial practices

Why is this important to me?

Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato

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NAGPRANative American Grave Protection and Repatriation

Act

• Approved Nov. 16, 1990• Address the rights of

Native Americans and Native Hawaiians to cultural items, including human remains

• Funerary and Sacred Objects

• Any object that may be a part of a burial or ceremony, which is reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later

Scientific Point of ViewPeople of a related field are simply attempting to gain knowledge to better understand these people. • As of September 30, 2014…• Human remains: 50,518 individuals• Associated funerary objects: 1,185,948 (includes

many small items, such as beads)• Unassociated funerary objects: 219,956 (includes

many small items, such as beads)• Sacred objects: 4,914• Objects of cultural patrimony: 8,118• Objects that are both sacred and patrimonial:

1,624• National NAGPRA.

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“Affiliated”

• The word affiliated is too BROAD.

• ‘’geographical, kinship, biological, archaeological, anthropological, linguistic, folkloric, oral tradition, historical, or other relevant information or expert opinion” Image

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Tribe Claims

• Kennewick Man remains (1996)• About 9000 years old• Found in the state of

Washington• Claimed by many tribes even

though there was little very little “affiliation”

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ConclusionIt is a matter of opinion.

Works Cited• Begay Jr. M. THE NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES PROTECTION AND REPATRIATION ACT AFTER TWENTY YEARS: A View from Indigenous Country. Arizona State Law Journal [serial online]. Summer2012

2012;44(2):625-638. Available from: Legal Collection, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 1, 2014.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=36cbc2c4-f405-4542-8fe3-117c403089a6%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=121

• Burke Museum. “Kennewick Man The Ancient One.” Burkemuseum.org. 2014. Web. December 1, 2014

http://www.burkemuseum.org/kennewickman

• Grose, Teresa Olwick. "Reading The Bones: Information Content, Value, And Ownership Issues Raised By The Native American Graves Protection And Repatriation Act." Journal Of The American Society For Information Science 47.8 (1996): 624-631. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a9bdbb61-9fca-4bfc-9882-71404de08be7%40sessionmgr4003&vid=6&hid=4211

• Mayes A. These bones are read: the science and politics of ancient Native America. The American Indian Quarterly [serial online]. 2010;(2):131. Available from: Literature Resource Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 1, 2014.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a0a67296-324e-4f72-aa99-0e3de14ef0f8%40sessionmgr115&vid=0&hid=121

• Smith J. Who Owns the Dead?. Archaeology [serial online]. January 2011;64(1):16-62. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 1, 2014.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=6e5f4f78-2034-4d98-8593- 82edefc5b2c2%40sessionmgr115&vid=0&hid=121&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=aph&AN=55758362

• Image 1 and 2. “Las Momias mas Fascinantes del Mundo.” Taringa!.net. 2010. Web. December 1, 2014http://www.taringa.net/posts/imagenes/8948804/Las-Momias-mas-Fascinantes-del-Mundo.html

• Image 3. “Research.” “NAGPRA.” newberry.org. 2011. Web. December 1, 2014.http://publications.newberry.org/indiansofthemidwest/property/nagpra-issues/

• Image 4. “Native Americans.” historymad.stmaryscollegehull.com. No date. Web. December 1. 2014.http://historymad.stmaryscollegehull.co.uk/TempPages/NativeAmericans/NativeAmericanLinks.htm

• Image 5. “Kennewick Man, an ambassador from the past.” CBSNEWS.com. October 12, 2014. Web. December 1, 2014

• http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kennewick-man-an-ambassador-from-the-past/