Please note:  

UMMAA is currently (as of December 2024) experiencing an unusually large number of requests for access to collections. As a result, requests relating to NAGPRA will be prioritized. Please be patient. We will respond to your request as soon as we can. If you need to access collections of any kind, you must submit your request via this request form.

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NAGPRA

The Museum of Anthropological Archaeology complies with all provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Prior to November 16, 1993, the Museum submitted Inventories and Summaries to the National Park Service (NPS) and Native Nations.The Museum filed its original Inventory to NPS in November 1995, and followed up with a revised Inventory sent in March 2000. In April 2009, in response to the Future Applicability Ruling by the Federal Government, the Museum filed a third Inventory focusing on those collections received at the Museum since 1993. The Museum continues to work with lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations throughout the United States, while coordinating with the U-M NAGPRA Office, to conduct consultations and complete repatriations. 

During the initial Inventory process, the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology identified over 400 NAGPRA-related site collections that included Ancestors, associated funerary objects, and unassociated funerary objects. Additionally, the Museum identified and reported more than 300 items within our ethnology and ethnobotanical collections that we believed were either Sacred Objects or Objects of Cultural Patrimony. More will likely be identified as NAGPRA compliance work continues. In all these cases, potentially culturally affiliated Tribes, lineal descendants, and Native Hawaiian organizations have been, or will be, notified as part of the consultation process.

The Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, in conjunction with the U-M Office for Research and its NAGPRA Office, is committed to continuing to foster dialogue and seek consultations with lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations from across the country.

If you have any questions about NAGPRA holdings or collections, archaeological sites, or compliance issues, please visit the U-M NAGPRA website (nagpra.umich.edu) or contact them at:

University of Michigan NAGPRA Office
Office of the Vice President for Research
Suite G269 Lane Hall
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1274

Email: NAGPRAOffice@umich.edu

UMOR Office: 734-764-1185

FAX: 734-763-0085