Audit finds agencies fail to identify, repatriate Native American remains

A yearlong audit released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office said no federal agencies with significant historical collections of Native American remains or associated sacred objects are in full compliance with a law mandating documentation and repatriation of the remains, despite passage of the act nearly 20 years ago. Since the early 1800s, federal agencies have amassed archaeological collections numbering in the millions, with the Department of Interior having an estimated 146 million objects relevant to archaeology and other disciplines such as zoology and art. Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service are required to identify the items covered under its provisions, establish cultural affiliations whenever possible, publish required notices and repatriate the items to the tribes...more