(Washington, D.C.) – The Department of the Interior announced a final rule to revise regulations that implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). These regulations provide systematic processes for returning Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs). The revised regulations streamline requirements for museums and federal agencies to inventory and identify Native American human remains and cultural items in their collections.
