[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 23, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S8555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. McCain and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 1983. A bill to amend the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act to provide for native Hawaiian organizations, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.


 The Native American Graves Protection And Repatriation Act Amendment 
                              Act of 1996

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill, 
cosponsored by Senators McCain and Akaka, which would amend the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to clarify certain 
provisions of that act as they pertain to native hawaiian 
organizations.
  In 1990, the Congress enacted the native American Graves Protection 
and Repatriation Act [NAGPRA] to address the growing concern among 
Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and native Hawaiian 
organizations associated with the disposition of thousands of native 
American human remains and religious objects currently in the 
possession of museums and Federal agencies.
  The act requires museums and Federal agencies in the possession of 
such cultural items to compile inventories and written summaries of 
human remains, associated and unassociated funerary objects, sacred 
objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
  The act further establishes a process governing the repatriation of 
such items to appropriate Indian tribes or native Hawaiian 
organizations.
  In the years since its enactment, native Hawaiians have been at the 
forefront in the repatriation of ancestral remains.
  Hundreds of native Hawaiian kupuna (ancestors) have been returned to 
Hawaii --released from the confines of over twenty museums in the 
United States, Canada, Switzerland, and Australia --and returned to the 
lands of their birth.
  Despite these accomplishments, native Hawaiian organizations have 
experienced great difficulty in ensuring the act's implementation--
ironically, not abroad--but in Hawaii.
  In written testimony submitted to the Committee on Indian Affairs by 
Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei, a Hawaiian organization recognized 
under the act, for a December 9, 1995, oversight hearing on the act, a 
number of concerns were raised--concerns which this bill seeks to 
address, namely--the lack of written consent where native American 
remains are excavated or removed for purposes of study; following an 
inadvertent discovery of remains, the lack of assurances that the 
removal of native American remains will adhere to the same requirements 
as an intentional excavation; and the lack of notification to native 
Hawaiian organizations when inadvertent discoveries are made of native 
American human remains on Federal lands.
  As one of the original sponsors of the act, it is my view that the 
amendments which I propose are consistent with the original purpose, 
spirit, and intent of NAGPRA, and are necessary to clarify the existing 
law.
  It is my expectation that, if adopted, these amendments will ensure 
better cooperation by Federal agencies in the implementation of the act 
in the State of Hawaii.
  The responsibility born by those who choose, or who are called upon 
to care for the remains of their ancestors is a heavy one.
  By acting favorably on this measure, I hope that we can assist these 
individuals and organizations as they continue in their efforts to 
bring their ancestors home.
  Mr. President, I thank you for this time today, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill when it comes before the Senate for 
consideration.

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