By: Bella Hood

A recent overhaul of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) has museums across the country closing exhibits and entire halls displaying indigenous objects to comply with new requirements. In December 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior enacted revisions to NAGPRA that apply to human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. All museums and federal agencies in possession of these types of items must comply with NAGPRA’s new provisions. 

NAGPRA requires consultation with lineal descendants, Native American Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations as well as prohibiting the display of any objects subject to NAGPRA without consent. The collaborative approach allows all parties to determine the rightful owners of the objects. Because some of the pieces have difficult origins to trace, museums could previously avoid returning items by claiming indeterminable origins. The revision makes it more difficult for museums to demonstrate this type of behavior by adding additional documentation requirements to ensure the museums performed proper due diligence. 

The Biden Administration has been applying pressure to promulgate NAGPRA’s revisions since 2021. The consequence for noncompliance is a civil penalty issued by the Secretary of the Interior. The size of the penalty is fact-specific, taking into account the archaeological, historical, or commercial value of the item, the damages suffered by the aggrieved party, and the number of violations that have occurred. The threat of civil penalties appears to be a strong enough deterrent to spur museums to act quickly. On January 27, 2024, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City closed two exhibit halls, the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains Halls, indefinitely. These exhibits were an amalgamation of objects from tribes in Montana, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, and other states. The closure will also extend to other displays within the museum.

In a staff letter, originally reported by The New York Times, the president of the American Museum of Natural History wrote that the museum’s actions reflected “a growing urgency among all museums to change their relationships to, and representation of, Indigenous cultures” and that the existence of the exhibits did not respect the “shared humanity of Indigenous peoples.” He added that “[a]ctions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others.”  This view is not one commonly shared historically by other museums, as evidenced by previous behaviors that took advantage of loopholes to avoid repatriation.

Other notable museums have followed suit in response to NAGPRA, including the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The Field Museum covered up numerous display cases featuring Native American cultural items, including items from at least ten Native nations in the Pacific Northwest 

NAGPRA does not apply to private collections or auction houses, though the 10th Circuit previously ruled it does include the individual trade of Native American objects. The same cannot be said for items exported for sale in foreign countries. Even so, NAGPRA has the potential to force repatriation of thousands of items across the nation. From the American Museum of Natural History alone, at least 160 tribes may be eligible to reclaim items. From the Field Museum in Chicago, at least 134 tribes may be eligible. Ultimately, tribes appear to be responding positively to the revisions. According to NPR, the tribes have been pushing for this progress for years and are pleased to see museums taking action. Although the tribes are happy to see progress, in a 2020 report by the United States Government Accountability Office, sixty-two percent of surveyed tribes felt their input on federal government decisions regarding NAGPRA issues was undervalued and insufficiently weighed. While it is yet to be seen just how fruitful the new NAGPRA will prove for Tribes in the United States, the stricter requirements provide an opportunity for museums to step up and correct their mistakes.