New federal rules aim to speed repatriations of Native remains and burial items
The new Interior Department regulations address long-criticized loopholes and issues identified by ProPublica’s reporting. They will go into effect in 2024.
Tribes in Maine spent decades fighting to rebury ancestral remains. Harvard resisted them at nearly every turn.
The university’s Peabody Museum exploited loopholes to prevent repatriation to the Wabanaki people while still staying in compliance with NAGPRA. The tribes didn’t give up.
