[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 122 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 122

   Supporting efforts to stop the theft, illegal possession or sale, 
  transfer, and export of tribal cultural items of American Indians, 
     Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians in the United States and 
                            internationally.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 2, 2016

  Mr. Pearce (for himself, Mr. Cole, and Ms. McCollum) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and 
 Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Supporting efforts to stop the theft, illegal possession or sale, 
  transfer, and export of tribal cultural items of American Indians, 
     Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians in the United States and 
                            internationally.

Whereas this resolution may be cited as the ``Protection of the Right of Tribes 
        to stop the Export of Cultural and Traditional Patrimony Resolution'' or 
        the ``PROTECT Patrimony Resolution'';
Whereas the tribal cultural items of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and 
        Native Hawaiians (collectively ``tribes'' or ``Native Americans'') in 
        the United States of America include ancestral remains; funerary 
        objects; sacred objects; and objects of cultural patrimony (hereinafter 
        ``tribal cultural items''), which are objects that have ongoing 
        historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to a Native 
        American group or culture itself, and which, therefore, cannot be 
        alienated, appropriated, or conveyed by any individual;
Whereas tribal cultural items are vital to tribal cultural survival and the 
        maintenance of tribal ways of life;
Whereas the nature and the description of tribal cultural items are sensitive 
        and to be treated with respect and confidentiality, as appropriate;
Whereas violators often export tribal cultural items overseas with the intent of 
        evading Federal and tribal laws;
Whereas tribal cultural items continue to be removed from tribal possession and 
        sold in black or public markets in violation of Federal and tribal laws, 
        including laws designed to protect tribal cultural property rights;
Whereas the illegal trade of tribal cultural items involves a sophisticated and 
        lucrative black market, as items make their way through domestic 
        markets, and then are often exported overseas;
Whereas auction houses in foreign countries have held sales of tribal cultural 
        items from the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Laguna, the Pueblo of San 
        Felipe, the Hopi Tribe, and other tribes;
Whereas after tribal cultural items are exported abroad, tribes have difficulty 
        stopping the sale of these items and securing their repatriation to 
        their home communities, where the items belong;
Whereas Federal agencies have a responsibility to consult with tribes to stop 
        the theft, illegal possession or sale, transfer, and export of tribal 
        cultural items;
Whereas an increase in the investigation and successful prosecution of 
        violations of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 
        (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act 
        (16 U.S.C. 470aa-470mm) is necessary to deter illegal traders; and
Whereas many tribes and tribal organizations have passed resolutions condemning 
        the theft and sale of tribal cultural items, including--

    (1) the National Congress of American Indians passed Resolutions SAC-
12-008 and SD-15-075 to call upon the United States, in consultation with 
tribes, to address international repatriation and take affirmative actions 
to stop the theft and illegal sale of tribal cultural items both 
domestically and abroad;

    (2) the All Pueblo Council of Governors, representative of 20 Pueblo 
Indian tribes, noting that the Pueblo Indian tribes of the southwestern 
United States have been disproportionately affected by the illegal sale of 
tribal cultural items both domestically and internationally and in 
violation of Federal and tribal laws, passed Resolutions Nos. 2015-12 and 
2015-13 to call upon the United States, in consultation with tribes, to 
address international repatriation and take affirmative actions to stop the 
theft and illegal sale of tribal cultural items both domestically and 
abroad;

    (3) the United South and Eastern Tribes, an intertribal organization 
comprised of twenty-six federally recognized tribes, passed Resolution No. 
2015:007, which calls upon the United States to address all means to 
support repatriation of ancestral remains and cultural items from beyond 
United States borders; and

    (4) the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, uniting the 
Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations, 
passed Resolution No. 12-07, which requests that the United States assist 
in international repatriations and take immediate action, after 
consultation with tribes, to address repatriation: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) condemns the theft, illegal possession or sale, 
        transfer, and export of tribal cultural items;
            (2) calls upon the Secretaries of the Department of the 
        Interior, the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, 
        and the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney 
        General to consult with tribes and traditional Native American 
        religious leaders in addressing this important issue, to take 
        affirmative action to stop these illegal practices, and to 
        secure repatriation of tribal cultural items to tribes;
            (3) calls upon the Comptroller General to conduct a study 
        to determine the scope of illegal trafficking in tribal 
        cultural items domestically and internationally and to 
        identify, in consultation with tribes and traditional Native 
        American religious leaders, steps required to end illegal 
        trafficking and export of tribal cultural items and secure 
        repatriation to the respective tribe;
            (4) supports the development of explicit restrictions on 
        the export of tribal cultural items; and
            (5) encourages State and local governments and interested 
        groups and organizations to work cooperatively in deterring the 
        theft, illegal possession or sale, transfer, and export of 
        tribal cultural items and in securing the repatriation of 
        tribal cultural items.
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