The passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990 spurred one of the great shifts in American anthropological frameworks. Federally-recognized tribal nations now had a legal process for bringing their ancestors and cultural items home from museums and universities. Thirty years after the passage of this groundbreaking legislation, how has anthropology framed or re-framed its relationships with Native peoples? This presentation provides an overview of NAGPRA and the anthropological practices that necessitated its development, and describes research and teaching frameworks that have shifted or need shifting in response to best practices in the field of repatriation. It also summarizes the history and current state of NAGPRA in Illinois and at the University of Illinois specifically, and how repatriation work can address some of the injustices perpetuated by the field of anthropology.
