AMENDED IN 2024 BY THEN Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna), the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) mandates a 2029 deadline for museums and federal agencies to repatriate human remains. Institutions must consult directly with tribal communities on the proper disposition of these items. Further, all items of Native American cultural patrimony must undergo a review process by tribal experts to determine how they are best cared for and displayed. “There is more work to be done around consultation regarding other objects in the Museum of International Folk Art collection that fall under NAGPRA,” says Acoma cultural advisor Brian Vallo. As the mandated repository for archaeological materials excavated in New Mexico, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC), across from MOIFA on Santa Fe’s Museum Hill, holds more than 12 million items that must be inventoried for repatriation. “The process of repatriation and the items involved are confidential between museums and the communities,” says MIAC executive director Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota). “This is spiritually difficult work, and we’re following the different traditions and processes of each tribe and Pueblo community.”
NAGPRA Reshapes New Mexico Museums
Updates to a law regarding Native objects mark a new era of consultations between museums and tribes.
The Center for New Mexico Archaeology, in Santa Fe, houses the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture's Archaeological Research Collections and supports ongoing NAGPRA work. Photograph courtesy of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.