Friday, Jul 11, 2008

1-29-08 The Politics of the NAGRPA in New England: Interview with Dr. Marge Bruchac

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J. Kehaulani Kauanui interviews Dr. Marge Bruchac (Abenaki), a scholar whose research focuses on the historical erasure and cultural recovery of indigenous peoples in the Connecticut River Valley, who discusses the "unintended consequences" of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the ways in which the language of erasure have been encoded into archaeological practices and state recognition, federal recognition, federal law, in ways that make northeastern Indians appear to have vanished, or to have been disconnected from their own ancestral past. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is a Federal law passed in 1990. Among indigenous peoples in the United States, the Act is considered landmark legislation that works to restore respect to ancestors whose remains have long been considered the property of non-Native others since the legislation was grounded in recognition that alienation of human remains and items of cultural patrimony violated Native religious traditions and common-law rights to protect the dead. However, her critical work in this area asks, How does this important legislation deal with the cultural differences and distinctive histories that mark the nation's hundreds of Native societies? Given the varied survival strategies of Native people, does the law accommodate groups whose legal statuses may differ significantly? What kinds of evidence should be accepted in repatriation decisions?

Posted by Indigenous Politics at 1:08 PM |   

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