This fall, the committee charged with overseeing UGA’s compliance with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) will expand the scope of its efforts, working with units across campus to identify holdings that may fall under NAGPRA’s purview.
Passed in 1990, NAGPRA safeguards Native American and Native Hawaiian ancestral remains and certain Native American cultural items such as funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. It requires all federally funded institutions in possession of such items to inventory those holdings, consult with lineal descendants or federally recognized Native American tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and repatriate ancestral remains and cultural items to those descendant communities when appropriate.
Earlier this year, UGA adopted a university-wide NAGPRA policy that complements a policy in place in the Laboratory of Archaeology since 2021. UGA also created a NAGPRA compliance committee that includes both faculty and administrators from the offices of Research and Inclusive Excellence, the Department of Anthropology, the Institute of Native American Studies, and other units, as well as RaeLynn Butler, a representative from one of the Laboratory of Archaeology’s tribal partners.
“UGA is leading the way in prioritizing NAGPRA compliance in the Southeast region,” said Butler, secretary of culture and humanities for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. “The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is impressed with their progress and commitment to respecting our ancestors and their belongings.”
Amanda Roberts Thompson, operations director at the Laboratory of Archaeology, has been named UGA’s Institutional NAGPRA coordinator, and the Office of Research Integrity & Safety brought on board Mary Hill as its NAGPRA compliance professional.
“NAGPRA is among the most important work that we do to maintain not only UGA’s commitment to compliance with federal law, but also to go beyond that to make sure that our partnerships with tribes meet the highest ethical standards of cultural care,” Roberts Thompson said.
The Laboratory of Archaeology launched its NAGPRA compliance program in earnest a few years ago. This program was developed under the leadership of Roberts Thompson and lab Director Victor Thompson, Distinguished Research Professor of Anthropology and executive director of the Georgia Museum of Natural History.
Since that effort began, the laboratory has begun large-scale consultation efforts and repatriation of ancestral remains and cultural items. The laboratory also now has an access-controlled reverential area, developed with tribal input, for housing remains and cultural items until they are repatriated. Additionally, the laboratory has adopted a proactive policy of tribal partner consultation in the planning stages for all activities within the laboratory, including new archaeological research.
Throughout this process the laboratory has developed close working relationships with partners from tribal nations like the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and Seminole Tribe of Florida, among other tribes with ancestral ties to Georgia.
“It has been refreshing to work with an institution such as UGA under Dr. Amanda Roberts Thompson and Dr. Victor Thompson’s leadership, as they have been consistently proactive and transparent not only in their NAGPRA efforts, but in working with and involving tribes in a number of related opportunities,” said Miranda Panther, NAGPRA officer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “Our work together has consisted of mutual respect and hasn’t been performative in nature. It is the standard that every other institution who works with tribes should be held to. I can’t speak highly enough of all that we’ve accomplished in working with UGA.”
The NAGPRA committee is continuing the work initiated by the laboratory and has now expanded it to include the formally adopted process for the university as a whole.
“I’m very pleased that the university has implemented all these changes and has actively engaged with NAGPRA on a more meaningful level,” said Victor Thompson. “This is not only good for UGA, but also enhances our relationships with our tribal partners.”
The committee is proceeding with a census tool that will be distributed by unit heads to relevant faculty and staff within their units. The goal is to comprehensively inventory all NAGPRA-eligible ancestors and cultural items in UGA’s possession and then consult with tribes on their repatriation, as required by federal law.
For more information, visit the ORIS website. There also will be a Research Live webinar devoted to NAGPRA on Sept. 16 featuring Amanda Roberts Thompson, Victor Thompson, Hill, Butler and other speakers.
