Repatriation
The AAIA Repatriation program has two components. In 1990, AAIA played a key role in obtaining the enactment of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a law that protects grave sites on federal lands and requires the repatriation of human remains and cultural items to Indian people and tribes under certain circumstances. (See NAGPRA Summary) AAIA has been very involved in the implementation of NAGPRA, having facilitated repatriation of almost 2,000 human remains to Dakota tribes, as well as filing amicus briefs in NAGPRA cases, writing legal analyses of NAGPRA for public use and filing comments on proposed regulations.
AAIA is committed to assisting in the return of sacred ceremonial material and cultural patrimony to the appropriate American Indian nation, clan, or family, from the private art market as well and to educating the public about the importance of repatriation. For example, we recently worked with the estate of a private collector to facilitate the repatriation of a 19th Century headdress of Cheyenne/ Arapaho origin.
The loss of ceremonial material has prevented many American Indian communities from passing ritual knowledge to future generations, consequently destroying traditions of prayer, medicine, and rites of passage.
For further information contact:
Jack F. Trope, Esq.Association on American Indian Affairs
966 Hungerford Drive, Suite 12-B
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (240) 314-7155
Fax: (240) 314-7159
E--mail: jt.aaia@verizon.net
