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DOI/NPS

RIN: 1024-AE19

Publication ID: Spring 2021

Title: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Regulations
Abstract: This rule would revise the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) implementing regulations. The rule would eliminate ambiguities, correct inaccuracies, simplify excessively burdensome and complicated requirements, clarify timelines, and remove offensive terminology in the existing regulations that have inhibited the respectful repatriation of most Native American human remains. This rule would simplify and improve the regulatory process for repatriation and thereby advance the goals of racial justice, equity, and inclusion.
Agency: Department of the Interior(DOI)	Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage
Major: No	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 43 CFR 10
Legal Authority: 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.

Legal Deadline: None

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	10/00/2021

Additional Information: Since the passage of NAGPRA in 1990, it has been the policy of the United States that human remains of any ancestry must always be treated with dignity and respect. Yet in the last 30 years, less than half of the Native American human remains in collections have been repatriated to their traditional caretakers. The proposed revisions to the existing regulatory requirements would respect the civil rights and sovereignty of Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiians to repatriate their ancestors and cultural items. The proposed rule responds to regular and repeated requests for regulatory revisions and would reduce the regulatory burden on all parties by streamlining requirements in accessible language with clear timelines, removing ambiguity, and improving efficiency. The proposed rule would likely have a positive net benefit, justifying any temporary cost increase.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: None
Small Entities Affected: No	Federalism: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
RIN Information URL: www.nps.gov/nagpra
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No
Agency Contact: Melanie O'Brien National NAGPRA Program Manager Department of the Interior National Park Service National NAGPRA Program, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240 Phone:202 354-2204 Email: melanie_o'brien@nps.gov