Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

A red and white woven basket shines in the center of the frame against a black background.

NAGPRA

Gift presented to the Peabody Museum from the Maine Tribes in
acknowledgement of repatriation during ceremonial transfer. Sept, 2021.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

NAGPRA requires the Peabody and other museums, in consultation with Tribes, to identify and return Native American human remains, funerary objects, objects of cultural patrimony, and sacred objects. The Peabody has a dedicated staff who work on the implementation of NAGPRA and the ethical and moral imperative it represents. 

Federal Register Notices

Object study and documentation, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, 2016.
Consultation visit, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, 2016.

NAGPRA at the Peabody: Past, Present, and Future

NAGPRA Consultation Visit, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, July 16-17, 2019
Consultation visit, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, 2019.

Getting Started

Woodbury Collection

The Peabody Museum stewards a collection of hair clippings, including clippings from Native American children attending U.S. Indian Boarding Schools, assembled by anthropologist George Edward Woodbury in the 1930s and donated to the museum in 1935. The Peabody will return the hair to lineal descendants and Tribal Nations through NAGPRA.

Peabody Museum NAGPRA Advisory Committee

The museum’s NAGPRA Advisory Committee advises the Peabody Museum Director on issues and decisions in regard to the implementation of NAGPRA, as well as providing counsel to the Peabody Faculty Executive Committee and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Four people sit around a table, three wearing lab coats. One person on the far right raises their hands to point at their head, as if explaining the use of an object.
Consultation visit, Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, 2018.
museum exterior.

Research Policy for NAGPRA Collections

The Peabody Museum supports the heritage interests and research goals of Tribal Nations by ensuring that their concerns may be voiced and incorporated into all research activities drawing on museum collections. We encourage scholars and others engaging in research to respect Tribal concerns and guidance and expect consultation with appropriate Tribal Nations to have taken place prior to proceeding with collections-based research projects. To this end, the Peabody Museum has implemented a research policy for NAGPRA collections requiring advance permission from Tribal Nations before research access will be granted.

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