NAGPRA

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

Passed into law in 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, requires all federally funded institutions and museums to consult with lineal descendants, federally recognized Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to facilitate the repatriation of Native American cultural items. Human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony are all recognized under the act, which also requires the items be treated with the utmost dignity and respect at all times. The act also facilitated the start of an ongoing dialogue between institutions and Tribal Nations and Native Hawaiian organizations to encourage a greater shared understanding and respectfully preserve history.

At Kansas State University, we understand that NAGPRA is the bare minimum and strive to go beyond federal requirements to foster new partnerships among Tribal Nations. As a public land-grant research university established under the 1862 Morrill Act, we acknowledge that the state of Kansas is historically home to many Native nations, including the Kaw, Osage and Pawnee, among others. K-State respects the sovereignty and cultural practices of Native peoples and their rights under NAGPRA to reclaim and repatriate their ancestors and funerary belongings.

The university currently houses collections of human remains and associated cultural objects, all of which have been inventoried and reported or are in the process of being reported to National NAGPRA. The collections are primarily from archaeological sites in Kansas and Missouri, and came to K-State via collection donation, archaeological excavation and research predating 1990. All human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony are treated with dignity, reverance and respect at K-State, and the university is actively involved in the repatriation of these collections to respectfully return them to lineal descendants.