25 U.S.C. § 3003
Section 3003 · Inventory for human remains and associated funerary objects
This is § 5 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 10 court decisions — leading case White v. University of California (2014)
Most recently applied in Navajo Nation v. U.S. Department of the Interior (April 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Each Federal agency and each museum which has possession or control over holdings or collections of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects shall compile an inventory of such items and, to the extent possible based on information possessed by such museum or Federal agency, identify the geographical and cultural affiliation of such item.1
(1) The inventories and identifications required under subsection (a) of this section shall be—
(A) completed in consultation with tribal government and Native Hawaiian organization officials and traditional religious leaders;
(B) completed by not later than the date that is 5 years after November 16, 1990, and
(C) made available both during the time they are being conducted and afterward to a review committee established under section 3006 of this title.
(2) Upon request by an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization which receives or should have received notice, a museum or Federal agency shall supply additional available documentation to supplement the information required by subsection (a) of this section. The term “documentation” means a summary of existing museum or Federal agency records, including inventories or catalogues, relevant studies, or other pertinent data for the limited purpose of determining the geographical origin, cultural affiliation, and basic facts surrounding acquisition and accession of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects subject to this section. Such term does not mean, and this chapter shall not be construed to be an authorization for, the initiation of new scientific studies of such remains and associated funerary objects or other means of acquiring or preserving additional scientific information from such remains and objects.
Any museum which has made a good faith effort to carry out an inventory and identification under this section, but which has been unable to complete the process, may appeal to the Secretary for an extension of the time requirements set forth in subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section. The Secretary may extend such time requirements for any such museum upon a finding of good faith effort. An indication of good faith shall include the development of a plan to carry out the inventory and identification process.
(1) If the cultural affiliation of any particular Native American human remains or associated funerary objects is determined pursuant to this section, the Federal agency or museum concerned shall, not later than 6 months after the completion of the inventory, notify the affected Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations.
(2) The notice required by paragraph (1) shall include information—
(A) which identifies each Native American human remains or associated funerary objects and the circumstances surrounding its acquisition;
(B) which lists the human remains or associated funerary objects that are clearly identifiable as to tribal origin; and
(C) which lists the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects that are not clearly identifiable as being culturally affiliated with that Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, but which, given the totality of circumstances surrounding acquisition of the remains or objects, are determined by a reasonable belief to be remains or objects culturally affiliated with the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
(3) A copy of each notice provided under paragraph (1) shall be sent to the Secretary who shall publish each notice in the Federal Register.
For the purposes of this section, the term “inventory” means a simple itemized list that summarizes the information called for by this section.