Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a law that was made in America in the year of 1990. This law is really important because it helps protect the burial sites of Native Americans. Have you ever heard of Native Americans? They were the first people to live in the Americas, many years ago.
NAGPRA says that the remains (bones) and sacred objects of Native Americans should be treated with respect and protected from being destroyed or taken away by people who are not Native Americans. It also says that if something was taken away in the past, it should be returned to the tribe where it belongs.
For example, let’s pretend that a group of people found some bones in the ground that were buried a long, long time ago. If scientists wanted to study these bones to learn more about the past, they need to follow NAGPRA. They must make sure that the bones are the remains of Native Americans and not from someone else. If the bones are Native American, the scientists must tell the tribe where the bones were found and ask for permission to study them. The tribe will say what it thinks is best and can even decide to take the bones back to bury them properly.
In this way, NAGPRA works to make sure that Native American burial sites and objects are not mistreated or taken without permission, but rather are respected and returned to the tribes where they belong.
NAGPRA says that the remains (bones) and sacred objects of Native Americans should be treated with respect and protected from being destroyed or taken away by people who are not Native Americans. It also says that if something was taken away in the past, it should be returned to the tribe where it belongs.
For example, let’s pretend that a group of people found some bones in the ground that were buried a long, long time ago. If scientists wanted to study these bones to learn more about the past, they need to follow NAGPRA. They must make sure that the bones are the remains of Native Americans and not from someone else. If the bones are Native American, the scientists must tell the tribe where the bones were found and ask for permission to study them. The tribe will say what it thinks is best and can even decide to take the bones back to bury them properly.
In this way, NAGPRA works to make sure that Native American burial sites and objects are not mistreated or taken without permission, but rather are respected and returned to the tribes where they belong.
Related topics others have asked about: