§ 10.8 - General.

§ 10.8 Summaries.

(a) General. This section carries out section 6 of the Act. Under section 6 of the Act, each museum or

General.

Each museum and Federal agency that has possession or control

over collections which

of a holding or collection that may contain

unassociated

human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony must

complete a summary of these collections based upon available information held by the museum or Federal agency. The purpose of the summary is to provide information about the collections to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations that may wish to request repatriation of such objects. The summary serves in lieu of an object-by-object inventory of these collections, although, if an inventory is available, it may be substituted. Federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that these requirements are met for all collections from their lands or generated by their actions whether the collections are held by the Federal agency or by a non-Federal institution.

(b) Contents of summaries. For each collection or portion of a collection, the summary must include: an estimate of the number of objects in the collection or portion of the collection; a description of the kinds of objects included; reference to the means, date(s), and location(s) in which the collection or portion of the collection was acquired, where readily ascertainable; and information relevant to identifying lineal descendants, if available, and cultural affiliation.

(c) Completion. Summaries must be completed not later than November 16, 1993.

(d) Consultation.

(1) Consulting parties. Museum and Federal agency officials must consult with Indian tribe officials and traditional religious leaders:

(i) From whose tribal lands unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony originated;

(ii) That are, or are likely to be, culturally affiliated with unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony; and

(iii) From whose aboriginal lands unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony originated.

(2) Initiation of consultation. Museum and Federal agency officials must begin summary consultation no later than the completion of the summary process. Consultation may be initiated with a letter, but should be followed up by telephone or face-to-face dialogue with the appropriate Indian tribe official.

(3) Provision of information. During summary consultation, museum and Federal agency officials must provide copies of the summary to lineal descendants, when known, and to officials and traditional religious leaders representing Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations that are, or are likely to be, culturally affiliated with the cultural items. A copy of the summary must also be provided to the Manager, National NAGPRA Program. Upon request by lineal descendants or Indian tribe officials, museum and Federal agency officials must provide lineal descendants, Indian tribe officials and traditional religious leaders with access to records, catalogues, relevant studies, or other pertinent data for the limited purposes of determining the geographic origin, cultural affiliation, and basic facts surrounding acquisition and accession of objects covered by the summary. Access to this information may be requested at any time and must be provided in a reasonable manner to be agreed upon by all parties. The Review committee also must be provided access to such materials.

(4) Requests for information. During the summary consultation, museum and Federal agency officials must request, as appropriate, the following information from Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations that are, or are likely to be, culturally affiliated with their collections:

(i) Name and address of the Indian tribe official to act as representative in consultations related to particular objects;

(ii) Recommendations on how the consultation process should be conducted, including:

(A) Names and appropriate methods to contact any lineal descendants, if known, of individuals whose unassociated funerary objects or sacred objects are included in the summary;

(B) Names and appropriate methods to contact any traditional religious leaders that the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization thinks should be consulted regarding the collections; and

(iii) Kinds of cultural items that the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization considers to be funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony.

(e) Using summaries to determine affiliation. Museum and Federal agency officials must document in the summary the following information. They must use this information in determining, as appropriate, the lineal descendants of a deceased Native American individual with whom unassociated funerary objects and sacred objects are affiliated, and the Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations with which unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony are affiliated:

(1) Accession and catalogue entries;

(2) Information related to the acquisition of unassociated funerary object, sacred object, or object of cultural patrimony, including:

(i) The name of the person or organization from whom the object was obtained, if known;

(ii) The date of acquisition;

(iii) The place each object was acquired, i.e., name or number of site, county, State, and Federal agency administrative unit, if applicable; and

(iv) The means of acquisition, i.e., gift, purchase, or excavation;

(3) A description of each unassociated funerary object, sacred object, or object of cultural patrimony, including dimensions, materials, and photographic documentation, if appropriate, and the antiquity of such objects, if known;

(4) A summary of the evidence used to determine the cultural affiliation of the unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony pursuant to § 10.14 of these regulations.

(f) Notification. Repatriation of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations as determined pursuant to § 10.10 (a), must not proceed prior to submission of a notice of intent to repatriate to the Manager, National NAGPRA Program, and publication of the notice of intent to repatriate in the Federal Register. The notice of intent to repatriate must describe the unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony being claimed in sufficient detail so as to enable other individuals, Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations to determine their interest in the claimed objects. It must include information that identifies each claimed unassociated funerary object, sacred object, or object of cultural patrimony and the circumstances surrounding its acquisition, and describes the objects that are clearly identifiable as to cultural affiliation. It must also describe the objects that are not clearly identifiable as being culturally affiliated with a particular Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, but which, given the totality of circumstances surrounding acquisition of the objects, are likely to be culturally affiliated with a particular Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. The Manager, National NAGPRA Program must publish the notice of intent to repatriate in the Federal Register. Repatriation may not occur until at least thirty (30) days after publication of the notice of intent to repatriate in the Federal Register.

[60 FR 62158, Dec. 4, 1995, as amended at 62 FR 41293, Aug. 1, 1997; 71 FR 16501, Apr. 3, 2006; 78 FR 27083, May 9, 2013]

comply with the requirements of this subpart, regardless of the physical location of the holding or collection. Each museum and Federal agency must identify one or more authorized representatives who are responsible for carrying out the requirements of this subpart.

(a) Museum holding or collection. A museum must comply with this subpart for any holding or collection under its possession or control that may contain human remains or cultural items, including a new holding or collection or a previously lost or previously unknown holding or collection.

(1) A museum must determine whether it has sufficient interest in a holding or collection to constitute possession or control on a case-by-case basis given the relevant information about the holding or collection.

(i) A museum may have custody of a holding or collection but not possession or control. In general, custody of a holding or collection through a loan, lease, license, bailment, or other similar arrangement is not sufficient interest to constitute possession or control, which resides with the loaning, leasing, licensing, bailing, or otherwise transferring museum or Federal agency.

(ii) If a museum has custody of a holding or collection, the museum may be required to report the holding or collection under paragraphs (c) or (d) of this section.

(2) Any museum that sends a repatriation statement for human remains or cultural items or that transfers or reinters human remains or associated funerary objects in good faith under this subpart shall not be liable for claims by an aggrieved party or for claims of breach of fiduciary duty, public trust, or violations of State law that are inconsistent with the provisions of the Act or this part.

(b) Federal agency holding or collection. A Federal agency must comply with this subpart for any holding or collection in its possession or control that may contain human remains or cultural items, including a previously lost or previously unknown holding or collection.

(1) A Federal agency must determine, given the relevant information, if a holding or collection:

(i) Was in its possession or control on or before November 16, 1990; or

(ii) Came into its possession or control after November 16, 1990, and was removed from:

(A) An unknown location; or

(B) Lands that are neither Federal nor Tribal lands as defined in this part.

(2) A Federal agency may have custody of a holding or collection that was removed from Federal or Tribal lands after November 16, 1990, and must comply with § 10.7(c) of this part.

(c) Museums with custody of a Federal agency holding or collection. No later than January 13, 2025, each museum that has custody of a Federal agency holding or collection that may contain Native American human remains or cultural items must submit a statement describing that holding or collection to the authorized representatives of the Federal agency most likely to have possession or control and to the Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

(1) No later than 180 days following receipt of a museum's statement, the Federal agency must respond to the museum and the Manager, National NAGPRA Program, with a written acknowledgement of one of the following:

(i) The Federal agency has possession or control of the holding or collection;

(ii) The Federal agency does not have possession or control of the holding or collection; or

(iii) The Federal agency and the museum agree that they have joint possession or control of the holding or collection.

(2) Failure to issue such a determination by the deadline constitutes acknowledgement that the Federal agency has possession or control. The Federal agency is responsible for the requirements of this subpart for any holdings or collections under its possession or control, regardless of the physical location of the holdings or collection.

(d) Museums with custody of other holdings or collections. No later than January 13, 2025, each museum that has custody of a holding or collection that may contain Native American human remains or cultural items and for which it cannot identify any person, institution, State or local government agency, or Federal agency with possession or control of the holding or collection, must submit a statement describing that holding or collection to the Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

(e) Contesting actions on repatriation. An affected party under § 10.12(c)(1)(ii) who wishes to contest actions made by museums or Federal agencies under this subpart is encouraged to do so through informal negotiations to achieve a fair resolution of the matter. Informal negotiations may include requesting the assistance of the Manager, National NAGPRA Program, or the Review Committee under § 10.12.