NAGPRA IS FOREVER - OSTEOLOGY AND THE REPATRIATION OF SKELETONS

The 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act requir es universities, museums, and federal agencies to inventory their arch eological collections to prepare for the repatriation of skeletons to their Native American descendants. The loss of these collections will be a detriment to the study of North American osteology, but the inven tory and repatriation process has increased the number of skeletons st udied from about 30% to nearly 100%. The availability of funds stimula ted by this law produced osteological data collection and systematizat ion unprecedented in the history of osteology. The possibility of form ing partnerships between Native Americans and osteologists has the pot ential of producing a vibrant future for North American osteology and the new bioarcheology.