Over 30 years after the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), new regulations have become a catalyst for institutions to invest in NAGPRA programs and initiatives. This has resulted in the hiring of personnel throughout the U.S. that are dedicated to NAGPRA compliance in anthropology departments, laboratories, and museums. New NAGPRA practitioners have dealt with many collections challenges as they work towards compliance and building relationships with Tribal Nations. Often, these issues are associated with legacy collections that have little documentation, are not properly curated, and are split-and-shared among different institutions. This presentation will review NAGPRA and its new regulations, present a case study for achieving compliance, and discuss creative strategies for working with complicated legacy collections in an archaeology laboratory setting.
Dr. Megan LeBlanc is the NAGPRA Coordinator at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM). She was hired in August of 2023 following her graduation from the University of Florida with a PhD in Anthropology. LeBlanc has archaeological excavation experience in the U.S. and in the Andes. Additionally, she was trained in collections management and NAGPRA at the Florida Museum before she was hired at AUM. She currently works with 13 Tribal Nations with ancestral ties to the state of Alabama to repatriate Ancestors and cultural items.
Contact: Armando Anzellini, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, insoan@lehigh.edu or ara622@lehigh.edu