Timely Response to Critical Need: A Review of the Intensive NAGPRA Summer Training & Education Program
By Nina M. Schreiner, PhD, RPA and Macie L. Orrand, MA
Compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a cornerstone of twenty-first-century museum practice. Yet, most collections stewards learn NAGPRA practice on the job rather than through formal instruction in the legal and relational aspects of repatriation. This problem was exacerbated by the 2023 Final Rule, which streamlined existing regulations and added new requirements. Now, even experienced NAGPRA practitioners are relearning the fundamentals of compliance.
Enter the Intensive NAGPRA Summer Training & Education Program (INSTEP) hosted by Dr. Jayne-Leigh Thomas of Indiana University (IU) and Krystiana Krupa of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UI). Over the course of two years, the pilot project, funded by a Wenner-Gren Global Initiatives Grant, has trained nearly 100 professionals representing Tribes, federal and state agencies, universities, and museums. The one-week, cost-free program deepens participants’ knowledge of NAGPRA documentation, core concepts like cultural affiliation, cultural sensitivity and intergenerational trauma, and consultation and collaboration between Tribes and institutions. Daily presentations foreground the perspectives of Indigenous scholars and Tribal representatives in the repatriation process.
As non-Indigenous women employed by state institutions, we valued INSTEP as a safe space to pose questions, interact with colleagues from diverse sector standpoints, and confront the ongoing settler colonial geopolitics that we navigate in government-to-government consultation. In group discussions about anthropology and colonialism–specifically the relationship between removal policies and subsequent looting that generated many museum holdings–we drew on our working experiences at state curation facilities that house thousands of legacy collections.
Nina: I was grateful to find a place in the inaugural 2023 INSTEP class. Just two months prior, I finished my fourth year in the Anthropology PhD program at the University of South Carolina and became the full time NAGPRA Coordinator at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, a hybrid state agency and academic unit at USC. I came to USC to learn decolonizing methodologies for stewardship of archaeological legacy collections. What I found was an institution that, like many others in the Southeast U.S., had never employed a NAGPRA specialist. I hoped that INSTEP would impart concrete strategies for working with Tribal governments and cultivating institutional will.
While the program exceeded expectations in terms of content, I was most impacted by the inclusive environment in Bloomington. Contrary to the scientist personas we are taught to assume in archaeological collections management, INSTEP humanized both attendees and the Ancestral individuals housed at our institutions. The kind staff of IU’s First Nations Educational & Cultural Center welcomed us with shared meals, for example, and Dr. Jenny Davis (Chickasaw, Associate Professor, IU Dept of Anthropology) challenged us to think differently about language. Rather than preserve collections with unknown provenance, we care for cultural belongings created by artists once known.
Learning communities are especially important for NAGPRA practitioners, like Macie and I, who are singularly responsible for compliance at home institutions. I left INSTEP with enhanced knowledge of compliance protocols formed in solidarity with an allied network.
Macie: As the first Curation and NAGPRA Care specialist in my organization, I am faced with the complexities of over fifty years of legacy collections. These challenges include improper curation methods, inadequate documentation, and hazardous conditions, all of which contribute to a persistent “legacy culture.” In addressing these issues, I am also focused on improving our policies and procedures for implementing NAGPRA and understanding the amended regulations.
I was fortunate to participate in the 2024 INSTEP program, an experience that significantly deepened my knowledge of NAGPRA and repatriation. The program empowered NAGPRA practitioners, Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, and institutions and agencies across the United States, and emphasized the collaborative nature of our work. INSTEP fostered a transformative environment, creating a sense of community among both Native and non-Native participants united by a common cause.
I cherished the chance to learn from peer practitioners who “speak the same language” and share similar experiences. However, the most impactful moments came from listening to Tribal partners who provided crucial cultural context and emphasized the importance of our work. Many of them have years of experience in NAGPRA compliance and shared invaluable lessons and insights about the evolution of its implementation.
INSTEP instructors created a safe space where we could grow together, tackling challenges and enhancing our advocacy efforts. We didn’t just aim to meet legal requirements; we sought to engage meaningfully in this work. This collective journey deepened our understanding and strengthened our connections, reminding us of the importance of approaching our responsibilities with care and intention.
INSTEP is a timely response to a critical need. It addresses the pressing NAGPRA training shortage that, in lieu of widespread curricular change in museum studies and anthropology, will shape practice for the foreseeable future. The organizers have announced their intention to continue the program regardless of whether further grant funds are forthcoming. We hope they find support in our professional community for years to come so that emerging professionals can continue to benefit from this training. As we navigate the new NAGPRA world together, we learn lessons every day that guide us to the safe and expeditious return of all Indigenous Ancestors, belongings, and cultural items.
To hear more from INSTEP coordinator Jayne-Leigh Thomas and 2023 attendee Chance Ward, check out this Heritage Voices podcast.
