The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 and companion federal regulations (NAGPRA) establish a process for museums and other institutions that receive federal funds to return certain human remains, funerary and sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to Native American tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and lineal descendants that demonstrate requisite relationships to the remains and other items.

In keeping with NAGPRA and the values of our institution, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is fully committed to the repatriation of our Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian collections. In this process, it is our priority to engage in consultation with tribal communities and lineal descendants.

NAGPRA Staff and Advisory Committee

NAGPRA efforts at Illinois are being led by Krystiana Krupa, the NAGPRA Program Officer, and Jenny Davis, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Chancellor’s Fellow of Indigenous Research and Ethics. Their activities will be informed by a NAGPRA Policies and Procedures Committee. Initially, committee members will develop policies and procedures for campus-wide NAGPRA compliance. Longer-term, they will serve as an advisory board to campus NAGPRA compliance efforts and the NAGPRA Program Officer.

Contact

If you have additional questions about NAGPRA, please contact nagpra@illinois.edu. For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact Robin Kaler, Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs at Illinois.