The NARF Legal Review is published semi-annually and provides updates on NARF’s cases and information on other timely Indian law topics. The most recent edition examines some of NARF’s cases from the Summer of 2024 through through Fall of 2024. NARF’s cases featured in this edition of the Legal Review include:
NAGPRA, Carlisle, and Indigenous Activism—In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The law was created to facilitate the return of Native American human remains and cultural items held by federal agencies and federally funded museums. NAGPRA also represented a shift “in basic social attitudes towards Native peoples” as, for too long, laws had protected non-Native cemeteries and graves from vandalism and desecration but had failed to protect those of Native people. The need for NAGPRA’s passage came from historical disrespect for Native American human remains and cultural items “in the name of profit, entertainment, science, or development.” At the time NAGPRA was passed, the federal government estimated that the transfer of Native American human remains would take about ten years to complete. Thirty-four years later, federal agencies and museums still hold more than 100,000 human remains, and Tribal Nations continue to actively pursue the return of their relatives and the cultural items that belong to them.
Case Updates—NOW AVAILABLE: THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ GUIDE TO THE UNITED NATIONS: As issues like climate change, repatriation, traditional knowledge protection, and cross-border access impact Indigenous communities across borders, Native Americans increasingly face rights violations that cannot be fully addressed through domestic advocacy alone.
NEW VIDEO SERIES: SACRED PLACES AND PUBLIC HEALTH: At a unique gathering in Albuquerque in late 2023, activists, Indigenous cultural practitioners, and public health leaders came together to explore the intersection of public health and access to sacred places for Native communities.
Tribal Supreme Court Project—The Tribal Supreme Court Project is part of the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative and is staffed by the National Congress of American Indians and NARF. The Project’s goals are to promote greater coordination and improve strategies on litigation that may affect the rights of all Tribal Nations. We encourage Tribes to contact the Project, especially when considering a petition for a writ of certiorari, prior to the Supreme Court accepting a case for review. You can find copies of briefs and opinions on the major cases we track at sct.narf.org.
You can learn more about NARF’s work, current and past, in the Legal Review archive.
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