Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.
Sirens sound in large areas of occupied Palestine after a missile launch from Yemen was detected
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 14 martyrs arrive at al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli massacre of al-Sultan Family north of Gaza.

'Delayed repatriation is delayed justice for Native peoples': Senators

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News Website
  • 30 Apr 2023 23:39
3 Min Read

13 bipartisan Senators urge five US institutions to comply with the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1990.

  • x
  • A Puebloan Kachina Huhuwa mask displayed for sale among other Native American artifacts at a 2014 Paris auction, France. (AFP)
    A Puebloan Kachina Huhuwa mask displayed for sale among other Native American artifacts at a 2014 Paris auction, France (AFP)

Alaska's Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan add their signatures to letters urging five museums and universities to repatriate Indigenous artifacts and the remains of those deceased to their descendants.

The letters collected the signatures of 13 bipartisan Senators calling on the University of California Berkeley, Harvard University, Illinois State Museum, Indiana University, and the Ohio History Connection to abide by the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) that was signed into US Federal Law in 1990.

The Act decrees that all institutions that benefit from Federal funding must repatriate all human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to their descendants or original community.

The letters denounced the non-compliance of the institution as "delayed repatriation is delayed justice for Native peoples."

"For too long, Native ancestral remains and cultural items have been unconscionably denied their journey home by institutions, desecrated by scientific study, publicly displayed as specimens, left to collect dust on a shelf, or simply thrown in a box and forgotten in a museum storeroom," they read.

An investigation by ProPublica and NBC News showed that institutions all over the US are hoarding more than 110,000 looted Native American remains. 

Related News

US, China to resume talks in Madrid; tariffs, TikTok on agenda

China warns Philippines against provocations in South China Sea

Senators question institutions' ethics

Murkowski said the letters aim to "elevate the issue" and educate the public on NAGPRA. She also revealed that she signed the letters "because it doesn't make any difference if you are a significant museum or university. If you have ancestral remains that have been part of a 'collection', they are ancestral remains that need to be returned and not necessarily kept as someone's private collection."

Senator Sullivan said the letters were sent to pressure the universities and museums into complying with the Act.

"Can you imagine somebody going to your ancestor’s grave and taking their bones, digging up their bones, and then when you go back saying, 'I’d like my great-great-grandfather’s bones back,' and they’re not being cooperative?" Sullivan remarked on Tuesday.

When the Act was put into law, US lawmakers estimated the repatriation period at 5 years, but more than 30 years later "a daunting amount of work" is yet to be completed.

"Experts reportedly estimate that it could take as many as 70 more years before NAGPRA’s directive of expeditious repatriation is fulfilled," the letters stated. The organizers proclaim that "this is simply unacceptable." 

The Ohio History Connection, which is responsible for the management of multiple sites in Ohio, as well as the Indiana University, Illinois State Museum, and UC Berkeley, stated that they are ready to complete the process of repatriation, while Harvard University has not yet responded to the letters.

Read more: US tribes ask Pope for records related to Indian boarding schools.

  • United States
  • indigenous people
  • Native Americans
  • US
  • Harvard University
  • NAGPRA

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Israeli police and rescue teams respond at the scene of a shooting attack where several people killed and injured in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 (AP)

Al-Quds shooting: 7 settlers killed, several critically injured

  • Politics
  • 8 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

Pro-'Israel' far-right Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, September 27, 2024 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' stops unfunded diplomacy ahead of UN, October 7 memorial

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet releases flares over the Gaza Strip, is seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

OIC summit draft: Israeli attack on Qatar risks normalization

People shout slogans and hold Palestinian flags while protesting during the twenty-first stage of La Vuelta cycling race from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP)
Sports

Pro-Palestine protests force abrupt end to Vuelta a España finale

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli regime faces growing isolation over Qatar strike: Reports

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS