Dear Colgate Faculty,
Thank you for your time and attention during the first faculty meeting of the new year. It was a pleasure to speak with all of you regarding the new NAGPRA Regulations and Colgate University’s institutional compliance. I am writing to you now to share the highlights of the presentation, and the actions that are necessary in order for Colgate to be in compliance with NAGPRA and to maintain a positive relationship with Native American Bands, Nations, and Tribes.
Top line information from the presentation:
Compliance with NAGPRA is federal law and is institution wide
All holdings or collections regardless of department that may include Ancestors, funerary belongings, sacred belongings, or belongings of cultural patrimony are subject to these regulations.
Remember:
- Not all NAGPRA-eligible items are obvious to us, this can include seeds and soil.
- This pertains to Colgate “property” — that is, items purchased or otherwise acquired with Colgate funds and/or acquired through Colgate-sponsored research, and items left behind from former employees/professors.
- It is also important that we are aware of any images of these items/holdings/collections.
- If you are in doubt, have little to no information, or are just unsure, please contact me as soon as possible, and we will work with you to figure out what steps need to be taken.
Action Items
- Please search your department collections or holdings (even if it is only one item) for any of the items listed above from any Tribal Nation or area of the US (including Hawaii and Alaska), including any human remains of unknown origin.
- If you are aware of any items/holdings/collections that contain any of these items, please let us know right away.
- If you have any archaeological materials and/or cultural items from the Oneida Indian Nation ancestral lands, you must inform me immediately.
Obtain free, prior, and informed consent from lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and/or Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHO’s) before allowing any exhibition of, access to, or research on Ancestors or cultural items.
- Research includes, but is not limited to, any study, analysis, examination, or other means of acquiring or preserving information about Ancestors or cultural items.
- This includes teaching with physical items and using images of items.
- To ensure comprehensive documentation for record-keeping, we will soon provide a consent form to capture all requests in writing.
As an institution, we have committed to not teaching with or displaying in classrooms or museum spaces any items that are subject to repatriation under NAGPRA or images of such items.
Please note that personal belongings or collections that have been purchased by you, or other faculty, individually that would otherwise be subject to NAGPRA are not permitted for teaching at Colgate.
I am the appointed point of contact for any NAGPRA compliance, I can be reached by email at kolneywall@colgate.edu or by phone at 315-228-7677.
For more information about NAGPRA— including important top-line information, deadlines, a copy of the letter from Ray Halbritter, Representative of the Oneida Indian Nation, and our respectful language list, please go to the NAGPRA Resources Colgate University Google Drive
More information will be added regularly. A FAQ document and consent form will be forthcoming. If you have any trouble accessing this information, please let me know.
I look forward to collaborating with you in this process.
All my best,
Kelsey Olney-Wall
Repatriation Manager