August 15, 2010

Dear friends, clients, colleagues, and others who are interested in NAGPRA,

I feel so fortunate to be able to report to you that the first six months of 2010 have kept us busier than ever.  And the next six months look like more of the same.  But I need your help to implement one of my upcoming projects. 

From now through the end of September, I'll be conducting interviews in order to write a book chapter on the impact of NAGPRA on communities.  The working title for the book is Implementing NAGPRA: A Critical Analysis of the Intent, Impact and Future of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.  I would very much like to hear from those of you who can speak to the impact of NAGPRA on your community.  I would also like to hear from you if you know of someone whose story should be heard.  

Last month, Sangita Chari, Jaime Lavelle, Bob Palmer, and I taught a new webinar - NAGPRA for Museums.  Over 100 people signed up!  This was the largest webinar offered by the National NAGPRA Program to date.  We're going to do it again so if you participated in the first webinar and have suggestions on how to make it better, I welcome your input.

This fall several NAGPRA seminars will be offered.  Sangita Chari and I will be in Phoenix October 5-6 to teach NAGPRA: Writing and Managing a Successful Grant.  Check out www.npi.org for a complete list of NAGPRA seminars as well as scholarship information.

Two of our museum clients were awarded $90,000 Consultation/Documentation grants and one was awarded a $15,000 repatriation grant.  One of the $90,000 grants will fund consultation that the museum hopes will lead to cultural affiliation determinations for human remains that were culturally unidentifiable.  The other $90,000 grant will fund NAGPRA Section 6 summary consultation with one tribe represented by the museum's largest cultural collection.  It will also fund a holistic evaluation of the NAGPRA Section 6 summaries that were sent to Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations in 1993.  This will lead to the development of a strategic plan for future NAGPRA Section 6 consultation.  We are looking forward to helping both clients implement these grants.

Recently we helped to facilitate a number of repatriations, physical transfers, and reburials. The repatriation grant mentioned above funded the physical transfer and reburial of human remains representing 17 individuals and 20 associated funerary objects from Arizona.  Also from Arizona, human remains representing 11 individuals were repatriated.  We have been and will continue to work with all parties involved to facilitate that reburial.  Human remains representing nearly 200 individuals from unknown geographic locations, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico will soon or have just had Notices of Inventory Completion published and are on track to be reburied by the spring of 2011.

I plan to be in Washington D.C. for the NAGPRA at 20 Symposium (November 15-16) and the Review Committee meeting (November 17-19).  Hopefully I'll see you there if not sooner.  And don't forget that I am very interested in talking to you or those you know who can speak to the impact of NAGPRA on Communities.

Warmest regards,

Jan



January 28, 2010

Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends,

Another year has passed.  2009 was our busiest year yet.  I traveled far and wide.  In early October I was in Southeast Alaska where I had the honor of presenting a two-day seminar for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska on NAGPRA as well as Starting & Operating a Repository.  A couple of weeks later I was in Sarasota Florida for the NAGPRA Review Committee meeting.  On Halloween, two of our clients presented seven disposition agreements for human remains representing over 250 culturally unidentifiable individuals.  All seven received unanimous approval from the Review Committee.

We offered two sold-out NAGPRA Grant Writing Seminars in 2009.  Sangita Chari and I were in Seattle in May and then Chicago in September.  We got rave reviews for both and are expecting some fabulous grant proposals to come out of the trainings. 

In 2010, we will teach the NAGPRA Grant Writing Seminar two more times.  We'll be in Providence, Rhode Island March 24-25 and in Phoenix, Arizona October 5-6, 2010.  Go to www.NPI.org for details.

Bernstein & Associates welcomed more new clients in 2009.  We wrote NAGPRA grants for three clients and all three were funded.  One of our new clients was awarded a $90,000 grant to redo all of the cultural affiliation determinations - a huge undertaking.  At least one of our clients who has been with us since our founding is nearing the end of their NAGPRA journey.  They hope to have all of the human remains in their care repatriated and physically transferred for reburial by the end of 2010.  We are doing everything in our power to help them make that possible.

I hope you'll let us know if there is a NAGPRA project on which you would like to have some assistance.

Happy New Decade,
Jan



January 1, 2009

 

Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends,

Happy New Year!  Think big!  Now imagine that big idea manifesting.  Ideas become actions and actions reality.   

This year I envision more consultations and more repatriations.  To help make this dream become a reality I will begin to offer NAGPRA grant writing workshops.  The workshops will allow participants to imagine full NAGPRA compliance not only with the letter of the law but with the spirit of the law. 

During the two-day grant writing workshops, Sangita Chari  of the National NAGPRA Program and I will do much more than show you how to write successful NAGPRA grants.  We will have you perform an assessment of your institution's NAGPRA compliance status and then guide you through the process of writing an action plan, which will be implementable through one or more grants. 

The first workshop will be May 20-21, 2009 in Seattle, WA.  It is scheduled to coincide with the NAGPRA Review Committee meeting.  To register and for more Info watch for the workshop to be posted at http://www.NPI.org

Dare to imagine,
Jan

Spring/Summer 2008 NAGPRA News and Post Script

June 20, 2008

Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends

I continue to be extremely grateful and honored to work in the spirit of NAGPRA and to work with so many dedicated people.   I am especially appreciative of the many Tribal representatives who I had the pleasure to work with these last 12 months.  Many of you took time out of extremely busy schedules to travel long distances to consult about cultural affiliation, to view cultural items, and to correct catalog records.  Some of you took it upon yourselves or had the responsibility thrust upon you to take the lead on a reburial.  I appreciate how difficult that can be.  I am also impressed with the museum professionals I’ve spoken with over the past year who have set new intentions to make NAGPRA work in spite of resistant administrators and limited resources.

Repatriation & Reburials - During the past 12 months, we facilitated quite a few repatriations and reburials in the Northern and Southern Plains and the Southwest.  Human remains representing over 50 Individuals and more than 100 funerary objects were reburied.

Fremont Culture Area Cultural Affiliation Consultation - The $75,000 FY 2007 NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation grant that I wrote for the University of Colorado Museum was expanded in scope to include 45 Indian tribes in the consultation process for human remains and cultural items from the Fremont culture area.  We started last autumn with a road trip to consult with Navajo Nation, Zuni Pueblo, Hopi Tribe, and Southern Ute Indian Tribe and have continued with long-distance consultation as well as visits to the Museum by Tribal representatives.  We hope to meet with the last seven tribes by then end of the year.

Future Applicability Rule Promulgated - The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) invited me to write an article on NAGPRA §10.13, the Future Applicability Rule.  The new rule was promulgated in April 2007.  It established deadlines for NAGPRA compliance for collections found or acquired after the original deadlines.  It also addresses what a museum should do when a new tribe receives Federal Recognition and when a museum receives Federal funds for the first time. 

We have been helping clients new and old comply with this new rule.   In fact one client has already repatriated one individual and asked the Review Committee for a recommendation for disposition for two culturally unidentifiable individuals. (See postscript for details)

Northwest Coast Office Opening – Deborah Confer who many of you know from the University of Colorado Museum will be moving to the Northwest in July where she will be heading up our Northwest Coast office, which we hope will make it more convenient for those of you in that region to take advantage of our services.

 Warmest regards,

 Jan

Postscript -
LEVEL OF PROOF REQUIRED TO PROVE CULTURALLY UNIDENTIFIABLE ARE NATIVE AMERICAN COMES INTO QUESTION

On May 15, 2008, I appeared before the Review Committee on behalf of a client to request a recommendation for the disposition (transfer of control) of human remains representing a minimum two Native American culturally unidentifiable individuals to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes.  The museum I represented consulted with 56 Indian tribes that have traditional territory claims in Colorado, Kansas, and Illinois.  The Committee complemented us on the extensive consultation and on how well we negotiated two competing claims for repatriation.  But then the Committee began to question if the remains were Native American.  We presented Prima Facie evidence, which included associated funerary objects, the collecting history of the museum, the scope of collection of the donors, and the donors’ statements.  There was no evidence to indicate that they are not Native American. 

The definition of Native American as it is defined in the Act: Of, or relating to, a tribe, people, or culture that is indigenous to the United States. [25 USC 3001 (9)] Of, or relating to, a tribe, people, or culture indigenous to the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. [43 CFR 10.2 (d)]

During previous Review Committee meetings other museums seeking recommendations for disposition have presented evidence from catalog records that remains could be those of an African American or Hispanic.  And the Committee determined that they were not Native American in some cases and were Native American in other cases.

Despite the fact that my client had no notations in the records to indicate that the remains of the two individuals were anyone but Native American, the Committee was unanimous in its opinion that there was not sufficient evidence to determine that they are Native American and therefore are not covered by NAGPRA.

This is a significant departure from my previous encounters on behalf of clients in front of the Review Committee and from those that I have observed over the years.  The Committee seems to be seeking a level of proof for making a determination that remains are Native American.  But I don’t know what level.  Was it prima facie evidence, which is used in making cultural affiliation determinations?  Prima facie evidence is evidence that until its effect is overcome by other evidence, will suffice as proof of fact in issue.  Was it preponderance of the evidence, which is a feather weight more than 50% that the Committee was looking for?  This level of proof is also used when making cultural affiliation determinations and when there is a dispute.  Was it clear and convincing evidence that the Committee is seeking?  This is the level used in civil cases.  An attorney I consulted thought the Committee was using beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the level of proof used in criminal cases.  Is this the appropriate level of proof to use for making a determination that human remains are Native American?

During the public comment period on May 16, 2008, I posed the following questions to the Review Committee.  The Chairwoman, Dr. Rosita Worl, instructed the Designated Federal Officer to respond in writing.  I have not yet received that response.  But, I pose these questions to you for thought and comment:

1. What level of proof does the Committee use to determine if human remains are Native American?  Is it the same level used for making cultural affiliation determinations? 

As I previously stated, in my client’s case the Committee did not use prima facie evidence.  If it was some reasonable evidence that the Committee was looking for, that level of proof would have been met.  Was it preponderance of the evidence?  Was there a feather-weight more than 50% that the remains were those of Native Americans?  With no evidence to the contrary I think there was a preponderance of evidence in my client’s case.    Was the Review Committee looking for clear and convincing evidence, the level of proof used in civil cases?  Was it beyond a reasonable doubt, the level of proof used in criminal cases?  Why did they raise this question at all?

2. What types of evidence does the Review Committee consider when making a Native American determination?  Are they the same as for making cultural affiliation determinations?  Is one type of evidence weighted more heavily than another?

In my client’s case, the Committee seemed to be looking for biological evidence.   Sometimes biological evidence will not exist, for example when an individual is adopted into a tribe from a non-biologically Native American population. 

3. Does the Committee consider new oral tradition evidence?  For example, what if you are told that the spirits of these individuals are guiding the tribe in their efforts?

4. Is the Committee concerned that it is establishing a precedent that may encourage some museums to make determinations without input from the Committee that similarly documented human remains are not Native American and therefore not covered by NAGPRA?

My client and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe immediately after the meeting agreed in principle to move forward with physical transfer and reburial.   During the meeting one Committee member told the museum that it was getting a pass on NAGPRA. His intention was to say the transfer could go forward outside the NAGPRA process.  But what if the museum preferred to continue to curate the remains?

5. One question I did not pose to the Committee that I would like to pose to you is - What does this mean for the future of NAGPRA?

Spring/Summer 2007 Project Highlights
July 18, 2007

What an amazing spring!  In May, I had the honor of facilitating a NAGPRA FY 2006 Consultation/Documentation Grant funded conference attended by 27 representatives of Plains Indian tribes.  Then, in June, I facilitated the largest reburial I’ve done in over 20 years.

After three years of meetings, after two $75,000 NAGPRA Consultation/ Documentation grants, after one $15,000 NAGPRA Repatriation grant, and after decades of storage in the museum, the human remains representing 300 individuals and 500 plus funerary objects were reburied. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We implemented the FY 2006 NAGPRA Grant awarded to the University of Colorado Museum.  The culmination was a meeting of official representatives from Plains Indian tribes in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, North & South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.  The meeting was a huge success.  The participants drafted a joint repatriation request for human remains representing 49 individuals and 79 associated funerary objects.  The Museum was thrilled that their goal for the meeting was achieved.

We implemented the FY 2006 NAGPRA Grant awarded to the University of Colorado Museum.Its culmination was a meeting of official representatives from Plains Indian tribes in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, North & South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.The meeting was a huge success.The participants drafted a joint repatriation request for human remains representing 49 individuals and 79 associated funerary objects.The Museum was thrilled that their goal for the meeting was achieved.

We wrote a NAGPRA Repatriation Grant to fund the physical transfer and reburial of those 49 sets of human remains and the funerary objects.  It will be funded by the National NAGPRA Program. And a fall 2007 reburial has been scheduled.  

In the process of planning the FY 2006 grant funded meeting, we initiated contact with Indian tribes culturally affiliated to other human remains curated by the museum.  These conversations lead to additional repatriation request.  Human remains representing one individual have already been returned to the culturally affiliated Indian tribe and another physical transfer is scheduled to take place very soon.  

We’ve also been writing quite a few notices of inventory completion for our clients.  As you know these pave the way for repatriations.  So expect to hear about more repatriations, physical transfers, and reburials in the coming months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The FY 2007 NAGPRA Consultation/ Documentation grant that we wrote for the University of Colorado Museum to consult with Indian tribes about Fremont cultural affiliation was funded.  Congratulations UCM!

I feel so honored to have been able to play a part in these NAGPRA success stories.  I hope you enjoy reading about them and are encouraged by them.

Warmest Regards,

Jan



Fall - Winter 2006 Project Highlights

March 7, 2007

It has been eight months since my last report.  My how time flies!  Since last July, we have been very busy.  And I continue to feel privileged to do this work.

Human remains representing several hundred individuals and more than 500 funerary objects will be reburied because of the funds provided by NAGPRA Repatriation grant proposals that we were contracted to write. 

We wrote a NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation grant proposal to fund individual consultation with 25 Indian tribes so that they may discuss Fremont cultural affiliation.  Human remains from sites throughout the west are ready to be repatriated due to the publication of numerous Notices of Inventory completion that we wrote for one of our museum clients.  We've been preparing for a meeting of over 30 tribal representatives who will discuss the repatriation and reburial of human remains and funerary objects from the plains.  We continued to facilitate consultations with museums and Indian tribes, which have lead to revised cultural affiliation determinations and new, positive, relationships.

Warmest Regards,

Jan

Fall 2005/ Winter & Spring 2006 Project Highlights

July 20, 2006

I can't believe it's been so long since our last update.  Our clients have been keeping us very busy.  I hope you will enjoy reading about our clients' NAGPRA compliance efforts and success stories.

The Robert S. Peabody Museum, at Phillips Academy in Andover Massachusetts, asked us to make NAGPRA consultation appointments for them.  This was in May, and by June 19th the Director and Collections Manager were at Zuni for what was the first of 20 consultations in a two-week period.  I joined them for the first two days of consultation to help them refine the agenda, and then continued to confirm appointments.

The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma asked us to make arrangements for the reburial of human remains representing an individual from Baca County Colorado and another individual from Cimarron County, Oklahoma.  These remains had been repatriated to the Tribes from the Colorado College.

We recently helped write the final report for the University of Colorado Museum's FY 2004 NAGPRA documentation grant.  During the 18 month grant period, we scheduled individual NAGPRA consultations with official representatives of 19  Pueblos and were honored to participate in many of them - lending our expertise in the implementation of the Act.

Following on the heels of the individual consultations, the University of Colorado Museum contracted with us to assist with the implementation of their FY 2005 NAGPRA grant, which funded a joint Pueblo meeting.  Our meeting planning services culminated in a two-day joint consultation, which took place in Albuquerque on May 17th and 18th.  As a result of the meeting, repatriation requests for human remains representing 203 individuals and 259 associated funerary objects from the Southwest were submitted to the museum.

We wrote four Notices of Inventory Completion and consulted on the associated NAGPRA human remains inventories, which were submitted after the University of Colorado Museum's May meeting to the National NAGPRA Program for publication in the Federal Register. 

Congratulation to the University of Colorado Museum on the award of your third NAGPRA Documentation grant.  We wrote this $75,000 FY 2006 NAGPRA Documentation grant for the University of Colorado Museum to fund a joint consultation with 17 Plains tribes.  The grant's primary goal is to make repatriation and final disposition decisions for human remains and associated funerary objects.

Congratulation to the Zuni Pueblo on the award of your NAGPRA Documentation grant.  We were invited to edit this $75,000 FY 2006 NAGPRA Documentation grant proposal that was written for the Zuni Pueblo by a student.  The grant's primary goal is to make accessible the Zuni Pueblo NAGPRA archives to facilitate future repatriation efforts.

Warmest Regards,

Jan

Spring / Summer 2005 Project Highlights

Congratulation to the University of Colorado Museum.  Bernstein & Associates wrote a successful FY 2005 NAGPRA Documentation grant for the University of Colorado Museum and we are just about to begin implementation.  The $75,000 grant will fund a joint consultation with 19  Pueblos.  The Pueblos' goal is to make repatriation and final disposition decisions for over 100 sets of human remains and thousands of associated funerary objects.  The decision to have a joint meeting was an outcome of individual consultations, which were funded by a FY 2004 NAGPRA documentation grant that Bernstein & Associates wrote.

Two sets of human remains from the southern plains were repatriated from the Colorado College.  Bernstein & Associates was honored to play a role in initiating the repatriation request.  We are currently working with the Indian tribe on making arrangements for physical transfer.

The three culturally unidentifiable individuals that were repatriated to the Southern Ute Indian tribe last year were reburied.  Bernstein & Associates was asked to facilitate the physical transfer.  It was an honor for Jan Bernstein to be invited to and participate in the reburial ceremony.

A National Park Service project called upon Bernstein & Associates to lend expertise to a NAGPRA compliance project for human remains from Fort Union.

Fall 2004 / Winter 2005 Project Highlights

Congratulations to the Hopi Tribe and The Colorado College on the repatriation of 22 individuals from the Southwest.  Bernstein & Associates facilitated the consultations with the Indian tribes, the Inventory preparation and distribution, as well as the publication of the Notices of Inventory Completion. 

Congratulation to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Colorado College on the Repatriation of the three culturally unidentifiable human remains in the possession of our client, the Colorado College. Jan traveled to Washington DC in September where she asked the NAGPRA Review Committee for a recommendation to go forward with the repatriation.  The Review Committee unanimously approved the repatriation and commended Bernstein & Associates on our process and presentation.   

Congratulation to the University of Colorado Museum.  Bernstein & Associates wrote a successful NAGPRA Documentation grant for the University of Colorado Museum and we are currently facilitating the implementation.  The $75,000 grant will fund consultations with 19 Indian tribes. 

Congratulations to the City of Limon.  This all-volunteer museum with the assistance of Bernstein & Associates submitted a NAGPRA Summary. Bernstein & Associates helped to devise a compliance plan and facilitated communication with the National NAGPRA Program and Indian tribes throughout the southwest, plains, and southeastern US.    

Bernstein & Associates helped a client to evaluate and respond to a repatriation request which came as a direct result of the Summary distribution that Bernstein & Associates helped to prepare and distribute. 

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe asked Bernstein & Associates to write a $15,000 NAGPRA Repatriation Grant, which will fund to reunify of repatriated human remains in one museum with remains in another museum as well as reburial. 

Congratulations to the National Museum of the American Indian!  Jan attended the opening festivities and was very impressed. 
 

Spring 2004 Project Highlights 

The City of Greeley Museums hired Bernstein & Associates to initiate communication with the National NAGPRA Office after realizing they were in non-compliance with NAGPRA.  Bernstein & Associates sent NAGPRA Section Six Summaries to nearly 200 Indian Tribes letting them know about the Native American holdings of the city's museums.  This was accomplished in less than six weeks.

An Indian Tribe was experiencing difficulty with a repatriation that involved multiple organizations.  Bernstein & Associates opened communication between all parties and wrote a Repatriation grant. 

A university museum had done very little consultation for NAGPRA Section 6 material.  They hired Bernstein & Associates to write a grant, which will fund 19 tribal consultations. 

A private college knew they had to comply with NAGPRA, but they didn't know how to get started.  They were especially concerned because they had missed compliance deadlines by nine years.  Bernstein & Associates assessed their situation, wrote a NAGPRA compliance plan for them to submit to the authorities and implemented the plan.  Now, the college has completed NAGPRA Section Five consultations, made the cultural affiliation determinations, and submitted all Notices of Inventory Completion for publication in the Federal Register.  They have even repatriation several sets of remains.   Currently, they are considering a plan proposed by Bernstein & Associates to fund a joint meeting, which will bring together representatives from the culturally affiliated Indian tribes so they can determine who will make repatriation requests and plan for reburial.