Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

Scope

This policy applies to all university researchers, faculty, students, and staff who have or may have access to human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony covered by the federal statute known as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). RP-11-006 was revised and updated in April 2024 to address updates to federal regulations (43 C.F.R. pt. 10) in January 2024. This policy replaces and supersedes all prior policies and guidelines internal to IU pertaining to NAGPRA.

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Policy Statement

1. Indiana University will comply with NAGPRA (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq. (1990)) and its implementing federal regulations (43 C.F.R. pt. 10). NAGPRA applies to any institution or state or local government agencies (including any institution of higher learning) within the United States that receives federal funds and has possession or control of a holding or collection of the following: Native American and Native Hawaiian human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
2. The Responsible University Administrator of this policy is the Vice President for Research. Day-to-day oversight and effectuation of this policy is through the Indiana University Office of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“IU NAGPRA Office”). The IU NAGPRA Office will work closely with all campus units to ensure compliance with this policy. All campus units must not act independently of the IU NAGPRA Office on any matter relating to or covered under this policy.
3. Indiana University prohibits all research involving ancestral remains legally controlled by Indiana University under the purview of NAGPRA without the permission of the Vice President for Research. As necessary, and to address such requests, the Vice President for Research shall from time to time constitute an ad hoc advisory board to advise on such requests.
   1. This prohibition excludes the following:
      1. Work done by, or under the direction of, the IU NAGPRA Office to determine cultural affiliation; and
      2. Medical treatment, research with tissue or other samples from an individual voluntarily donated by that individual or next-of-kin, or forensic examination conducted at the request of an accredited law enforcement authority.
4. Tribal representatives must be consulted prior to a Native American or Native Hawaiian collection or object’s use in research, exhibition, or teaching, so that tribes and IU NAGPRA staff can examine the materials and make recommendations to the Vice President for Research regarding their NAGPRA status. Any human remains or tangible cultural items, as defined under the law, cannot be researched, exhibited, or accessed unless tribal consent is given. If the origin of an object is in question or unknown, the object should not be accessed or utilized until tribal consultation and consent occurs to ensure compliance with federal law. During the consultation period and beyond, IU will give its best efforts to safeguard and protect the materials from harm or damage.
5. Any university researcher, faculty, student, or staff member who is, or believes they may be, in possession of human remains or objects covered by NAGPRA must notify the IU NAGPRA Office. The IU NAGPRA Office, under the direction and approval of the Vice President for Research, reserves the right to examine any human remains or objects held by IU to make a determination if the remains or objects are subject to the federal NAGPRA law.
6. The IU NAGPRA Office will keep an updated inventory of all collections subject to the federal NAGPRA law, and this inventory will be made available to the Vice President for Research and the Vice President and General Counsel.
7. The determination of the status and disposition of any human remains or objects subject to the federal NAGPRA law will be made by the Vice President for Research in consultation with the IU NAGPRA Office, the Vice President and General Counsel, and the relevant federally recognized tribes, in accordance with written procedures. If the determination includes another IU unit, that IU unit and key campus leaders will also be consulted. Any required repatriation will be implemented in compliance with federal NAGPRA law and its implementing regulations at the direction of the IU NAGPRA Office.
8. The IU NAGPRA Office will establish procedures for the collection, storage, inventory and disposition of collections within the IU NAGPRA Office covered under federal NAGPRA law.  These procedures are subject to the review and approval of the Vice President for Research in consultation with the Vice President and General Counsel.  Other IU units must develop procedures for the collection, storage, inventory and disposition of collections covered under federal NAGPRA law within their oversight, and these procedures must comply with this policy.
9. If any IU unit wishes to accept a new collection, and the unit knows or suspects the material may be covered under federal NAGPRA law, the IU unit must contact the IU NAGPRA office prior to official acceptance and receipt so that IU NAGPRA Office can assess whether the proposed collection is covered under federal regulations and thus this policy.
   1. If the IU NAGPRA Office determines that no part of the collection is covered under this policy, the decision to acquire the collection shall rest solely with the Unit.
   2. If the IU NAGPRA Office determines that the collection in whole or in part covered under this policy, IU NAGPRA shall either approve the acquisition outright, or, for large collections or those with complicated ownership history and/or complex provenance(s), the Vice President for Research will decide on acquisition (in whole or in part) after consulting with the unit.
   3. Adherence to this provision regarding new collections supersedes unit-level decision-making regarding collection acquisition that fall under this policy.

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Reason for Policy

NAGPRA provides a systematic process for determining the rights of lineal descendants, federally recognized Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations to all Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony with which they are culturally or geographically affiliated.

As a federally-funded institution in possession of human remains and objects subject to NAGPRA, Indiana University is obligated to comply with NAGPRA’s requirements. The university is also committed to being respectful of lineal descendants, federally recognized Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations whose ancestral remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or cultural objects may be in the university’s possession.

Subject to NAGPRA and this policy, some university units maintain cultural collections as a public trust for the university, the people of the State of Indiana, and Native American tribes, as part of the university’s research, teaching, and service mission. These units are responsible for treating human remains, funerary objects, cultural objects, and objects of cultural patrimony currently under the university’s control in a respectful and dignified manner, and for preserving all collections according to the highest scholarly, professional, and ethical standards.

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Definitions

Consultation or Consult: The exchange of information, open discussion, and joint deliberations made between all parties in good faith in order to (1) Seek, discuss, and consider the views of all parties: (2) Strive for consensus, agreement, or mutually acceptable alternatives; and (3) Enable meaningful consideration of the Native American traditional knowledge of lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organization.

Cultural Items: A funerary object, sacred object, or tangible object of cultural patrimony according to the Native American traditional knowledge of lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.

Human Remains: Any physical part of the body of a Native American individual. This term does not include human remains to which a museum or Federal agency can prove it has a right of possession. 

Funerary Object: Any object reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains and connected, either at the time of death or later, to a death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the Native American tradition knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. It does not refer to objects returned or distributed to living persons according to traditional custom after a death rite or ceremony. Funerary objects are either (1) associated funerary objects or (2) unassociated funerary objects.

1. Associated Funerary Objects: Any funerary object related to human remains that were removed and the location of the human remains is known. Any object made exclusively for burial purposes or to contain human remains is always an associated funerary object regardless of the physical location or existence of any related human remains.
2. Unassociated Funerary Objects: Any funerary object that is not an associated funerary object and is identified by a preponderance of the evidence as one or more of the following: (i) related to human remains but the human remains were not removed, or the location of the human remains is unknown, (ii) related to specific individuals or families, (iii) removed from a specific burial site of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe of Native Hawaiian organization, or (iv) removed from a specific area where a burial site of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe of Native Hawaiian organization is known to have existed, but the burial site is no longer extant.

Sacred Objects: Items needed by traditional Native American religious leaders for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.

Objects of Cultural Patrimony: Objects having ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to a Native American group, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. An object of cultural patrimony may have been entrusted to a caretaker, along with the authority to confer that responsibility to another caretaker. The object must be reasonably identified as being of such importance central to the group that it: (1) cannot be alienated, appropriated, or conveyed by any person, including its caretaker, regardless of where the person is a member of the group, and (2) must have been considered inalienable by the group at the time the object was separated from the group.

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Sanctions

Violations of the NAGPRA federal law may result in substantial fines to Indiana University. Therefore, violations of Indiana University policy by an individual, including the failure to avoid a prohibited activity or obtain required approvals, will be dealt with in accordance with applicable university policies and procedures, and may involve required notification of appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Failure to comply with university policies may result in sanctions relating to the individual's employment (up to and including immediate termination of employment in accordance with applicable university policy); the individual's studies within the university (such as student discipline in accordance with applicable university policy); civil or criminal liability; or any combination of these.

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History

This policy was established in 2015 and was revised and updated in 2022 and 2024.

September 2025- Substantive revisions

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