The National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAI Act) was enacted on November 28, 1989, as Public Law 101-185. The law established the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the Smithsonian Institution. The law also required the Secretary of the Smithsonian to prepare an inventory of all Indian and Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects in Smithsonian collections, as well as expeditiously return these items upon the request of culturally affiliated federally recognized Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.
Passed the House as the H.R. 2668. House struck all of the Senate bill after the enacting clause and inserted in lieu thereof the provisions of H.R. 2668 on October 13, 1989 (without objection) with amendment
Senate agreed to House amendment on October 14, 1989 (voice vote)
To collect, preserve, and exhibit Native American objects
To provide for Native American research and study programs
Inventory and returnedit
Prior to enactment of the NMAI Act, representatives of the Native American Rights Fund and the Association for Native American Affairs told Congressional staffers that they would oppose the bill if repatriation provisions were not included. At an August 1989, meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Secretary of the Smithsonian Robert McCormick Adams, Jr., agreed that the Smithsonian would abide by new repatriation provisions.[2] As a result of the law, the Secretary of the Smithsonian is required to inventory Indian and Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects in the possession or control of the Smithsonian Institution and return them upon request by a descendant or culturally affiliated Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. These items are housed primarily in the National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the American Indian, and National Museum of American History.
The Smithsonian had amassed a huge collection of Native American items including:
4,000 Native American remains collected under an 1867 order by the Surgeon General of the United States Army to Army medical officers to send skeletal remains of Native Americans to the Army Medical Museum. These remains were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1898.
Another 14,000 Native American remains were obtained through archaeological excavations, individual donations, and museum donations.
The acquisition of the Heye Foundation's collections added 800,000 artifacts to the Smithsonian's Native American collections.
Return criteriaedit
The 1989 NMAI Act applied only to the return of Indian and Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects. The NMAI Act was amended in 1996 to include additional categories derived from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act enacted in 1990, with similar definitions:
Human remains
Associated funerary objects
Unassociated funerary objects
Sacred objects
Objects of cultural patrimony
The 1996 amendment also established specific deadlines for the Smithsonian to complete its summary and inventory tasks. The National Museum of Natural History posted summaries of its cultural affiliation case reports on its website. By 2007, the remains of 18,568 individuals had been identified. Of these, remains representing 5,435 individuals (29%) had been offered for repatriation to lineal descendants or culturally affiliated Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. By 1996, the National Museum of the American Indian had identified the remains of 524 individuals in its collection, of which 227 (41%) had already been repatriated.[3]
GAO Report on Repatriationedit
In 2011, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) completed a study of the extent to which the Smithsonian had fulfilled the repatriation requirements of the NMAI Act.[4] The GAO found that while the Smithsonian had inventoried, identified, and returned thousands of Indian human remains, at the current pace it may take decades more for it to complete the process. The GAO suggested that Congress consider ways to expedite the process including, but not limited to, directing the Smithsonian to make cultural affiliation determinations as efficiently and effectively as possible. The GAO also recommended certain administrative changes to enhance oversight of the process.
^McKeown, C.T., Repatriation, Handbook of North American Indians, volume 2, 2008.
^Government Accountability Office, Smithsonian Institution: Much Work Still Needed to Identify and Repatriate Indian Human Remains and Objects, GAO-11-505 (May 2011)
Law review article comparing legislation in the US and Australia
Smithsonian Institution: Much Work Still Needed to Identify and Repatriate Indian Human Remains and Objects
December 02, 2023
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The National Museum of the American Indian Act NMAI Act was enacted on November 28 1989 as Public Law 101 185 The law established the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the Smithsonian Institution The law also required the Secretary of the Smithsonian to prepare an inventory of all Indian and Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects in Smithsonian collections as well as expeditiously return these items upon the request of culturally affiliated federally recognized Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations National Museumof the American Indian ActLong titleNational Museum of the American Indian ActAcronyms colloquial NMAIEnacted bythe 101st United States CongressCitationsPublic lawPub L Tooltip Public Law United States 101 185Legislative historyIntroduced in the Senate by Daniel Inouye 1 D Hawaii on May 11 1989Committee consideration by United States Senate Committee on Rules United States Senate Committee on Indian AffairsPassed the Senate on October 3 1989 voice vote Passed the House as the H R 2668 House struck all of the Senate bill after the enacting clause and inserted in lieu thereof the provisions of H R 2668 on October 13 1989 without objection with amendmentSenate agreed to House amendment on October 14 1989 voice vote Signed into law by President George H W Bush on November 28 1989Major amendmentsNational Museum of the American Indian Act Amendments of 1996 Pub L 104 278 October 9 1996 Contents 1 The Smithsonian Institution 2 Inventory and return 3 Return criteria 4 GAO Report on Repatriation 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksThe Smithsonian Institution editThe NMAI Act expands the Smithsonian Institution by authorizing erection of a new museum on the National Mall in Washington D C to house Native American artifacts from the Heye Foundation s Museum of the American Indian As part of a legal compromise regarding the Heye Foundation s New York state charter the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian was also created by the NMAI Act in the Alexander Hamilton U S Custom House in New York City The purpose of the NMAI is threefold To advance the study of Native Americans To collect preserve and exhibit Native American objects To provide for Native American research and study programsInventory and return editPrior to enactment of the NMAI Act representatives of the Native American Rights Fund and the Association for Native American Affairs told Congressional staffers that they would oppose the bill if repatriation provisions were not included At an August 1989 meeting in Santa Fe New Mexico Secretary of the Smithsonian Robert McCormick Adams Jr agreed that the Smithsonian would abide by new repatriation provisions 2 As a result of the law the Secretary of the Smithsonian is required to inventory Indian and Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects in the possession or control of the Smithsonian Institution and return them upon request by a descendant or culturally affiliated Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization These items are housed primarily in the National Museum of Natural History National Museum of the American Indian and National Museum of American History The Smithsonian had amassed a huge collection of Native American items including 4 000 Native American remains collected under an 1867 order by the Surgeon General of the United States Army to Army medical officers to send skeletal remains of Native Americans to the Army Medical Museum These remains were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1898 Another 14 000 Native American remains were obtained through archaeological excavations individual donations and museum donations The acquisition of the Heye Foundation s collections added 800 000 artifacts to the Smithsonian s Native American collections Return criteria editThe 1989 NMAI Act applied only to the return of Indian and Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects The NMAI Act was amended in 1996 to include additional categories derived from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act enacted in 1990 with similar definitions Human remains Associated funerary objects Unassociated funerary objects Sacred objects Objects of cultural patrimonyThe 1996 amendment also established specific deadlines for the Smithsonian to complete its summary and inventory tasks The National Museum of Natural History posted summaries of its cultural affiliation case reports on its website By 2007 the remains of 18 568 individuals had been identified Of these remains representing 5 435 individuals 29 had been offered for repatriation to lineal descendants or culturally affiliated Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations By 1996 the National Museum of the American Indian had identified the remains of 524 individuals in its collection of which 227 41 had already been repatriated 3 GAO Report on Repatriation editIn 2011 the Government Accountability Office GAO completed a study of the extent to which the Smithsonian had fulfilled the repatriation requirements of the NMAI Act 4 The GAO found that while the Smithsonian had inventoried identified and returned thousands of Indian human remains at the current pace it may take decades more for it to complete the process The GAO suggested that Congress consider ways to expedite the process including but not limited to directing the Smithsonian to make cultural affiliation determinations as efficiently and effectively as possible The GAO also recommended certain administrative changes to enhance oversight of the process See also editOsteoware NAGPRA Smithsonian Museum of Natural History National Museum of the American IndianReferences editNotes Bureau of Indian Affairs Daniel L Fixico Page 161 McKeown C T In the Smaller Scope of Conscience the Struggle for National Repatriation Legislation 1986 1990 2012 University of Arizona Press ISBN 9780816526871 McKeown C T Repatriation Handbook of North American Indians volume 2 2008 Government Accountability Office Smithsonian Institution Much Work Still Needed to Identify and Repatriate Indian Human Remains and Objects GAO 11 505 May 2011 This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Further reading Watkins Joe Representing and Repatriating the Past North American Archaeology 2005 Blackwell Publishing External links editCongressional Transcript of the passing of the bill National Museum of the American Indian Act National Museum of the American Indian Repatriation Office 2012 NMAI Repatriation Office National Museum of Natural History Repatriation Office 2012 NMNH Repatriation Office Law review article comparing legislation in the US and Australia Smithsonian Institution Much Work Still Needed to Identify and Repatriate Indian Human Remains and Objects 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