Of these eight agencies, the Corps, the Forest Service, and NPS did the  most extensive work to identify their NAGPRA items, and therefore they  have the highest confidence level that they have identified all of them and  included them in summaries and inventories (see table 3). In contrast,  relative to the top three agencies, BLM, BOR, and FWS were moderately  successful in identifying their items and including them in summaries and  inventories, and BIA and TVA have done the least amount of work. 1). Additionally, we found that a number of federal agencies have not fully  complied with NAGPRA’s requirement to publish notices of inventory  completion for all of their culturally affiliated human remains and  associated funerary objects in the Federal Register, thereby complicating  efforts of Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations to make  repatriation requests for those items (see table 5). National NAGPRA Has Taken Actions Consistent with the Act, such as Publishing Notices, Administering a Grants Program, and Supporting the Review Committee

National NAGPRA has taken a number of actions that are consistent with  the act. In the  other case, a nomination was made by a non-federally recognized tribe. Many NAGPRA Items Have Been Repatriated, but Repatriations Are Not Tracked or Reported Governmentwide

According to agency data and our survey results, a total of 55 percent of  human remains and 68 percent of associated funerary objects have been  repatriated as of September 30, 2009. While agencies are required to  permanently document their repatriations, they are not required to  compile and report that information to anyone. These three  agencies, however, along with other federal agencies that have published  notices of inventory completion, do not regularly report comprehensive  data on their repatriations to National NAGPRA, the Review Committee, or  Congress. However, as noted in  the data above only three of the eight key agencies with significant  historical collections presently consolidate agencywide data on the extent  of their repatriations. Similarly, Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations do not have  readily available information on which human remains and objects have  been culturally affiliated with them but have not been repatriated. Repatriations did not occur for a variety of reasons. Conclusions

After passage of the act, many federal agencies faced a monumental task  in trying to identify all of their NAGPRA items and culturally affiliating  them, to the extent possible, within the statutory deadlines. Despite  the fact that key federal agencies have now had almost 20 years to comply  with the act, they still have not fully complied. Recommendations for Executive Action

We are making the following five recommendations to improve NAGPRA  implementation:  To enhance federal agency NAGPRA compliance, we recommend that the  Secretaries of Agriculture, Defense, and the Interior, and the Chief  Executive Officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority direct their cultural  resource management programs to develop and provide to Congress    a needs assessment listing specific actions, resources, and time needed to  complete the inventories and summaries required by NAGPRA sections 5  and 6 for their historical collections; and   a timetable for the expeditious publication in the Federal Register of  notices of inventory completion for all remaining Native American human  remains and associated funerary objects that have been culturally  affiliated in inventories. To provide policymakers with information to assess the overall  effectiveness of the act and to provide Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian  organizations readily accessible information on items that are available for  repatriation, we recommend that the Secretaries of Agriculture, Defense,  the Interior, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee Valley  Authority direct their cultural resource management programs to report  their repatriation data to National NAGPRA on a regular basis, but no less  than annually, for each notice of inventory completion they have or will  publish. In their written comments, officials from Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service,  Interior, and TVA agreed with the report’s conclusions and  recommendations. The Department of Defense did not provide comments. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This appendix details the methods we used to examine the  implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and  Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). We were asked to determine:  (1) the extent to which federal agencies have complied with  NAGPRA’s requirements for their historical collections;  (2) the activities taken by the Review Committee to fulfill its role  under NAGPRA and what challenges, if any, it faces;  (3) the actions taken by National NAGPRA to fulfill its responsibilities  under NAGPRA; and  (4) the extent to which federal agencies reported repatriating Native  American human remains and objects. We examined NAGPRA implementation in detail for eight federal agencies  with significant historical collections: the Department of the Interior’s  Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM),  Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and  the National Park Service (NPS); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  (Corps); the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service; and the  Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Appendix III: National NAGPRA’s Lack of Authority to Ensure Federal Agency Compliance with NAGPRA

National NAGPRA is charged with assisting federal agencies and others  with the NAGPRA process.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) required federal agencies and museums to (1) identify their Native American human remains and other objects, (2) try to culturally affiliate them with a present day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, and (3) repatriate them under the terms in the act. The National NAGPRA office, within the Department of the Interior's National Park Service (NPS), facilitates the government-wide implementation of NAGPRA. GAO was asked to determine, among other things, the (1) extent to which agencies have complied with their NAGPRA requirements, (2) actions taken by National NAGPRA, and (3) extent of repatriations reported by agencies. GAO reviewed records for eight key agencies with significant historical collections, surveyed agencies to obtain repatriation data, and interviewed agency, museum, and tribal officials.

What GAO Found

Almost 20 years after NAGPRA, key federal agencies still have not fully complied with the act for their historical collections acquired on or before NAGPRA's enactment. GAO examined NAGPRA implementation in detail for eight key federal agencies with significant historical collections: Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NPS; Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps); and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). First, all of the agencies acknowledge that they still have additional work to do to fully comply with the act's requirements to identify all of their NAGPRA items, establish cultural affiliations when possible, and create summaries and inventories of the items. Overall, the Corps, the Forest Service, and NPS did the most work to identify their NAGPRA items. BLM, BOR, and FWS did some work, and BIA and TVA have done the least amount of work. Second, some of the eight agencies, along with some other federal agencies, have not fully complied with NAGPRA's requirement to publish notices of inventory completion for all of their culturally affiliated human remains and associated funerary objects in the Federal Register. Until agencies (1) identify all of the possible NAGPRA items in their historical collections, (2) establish cultural affiliations to the extent possible, and (3) publish the required notices, they cannot repatriate their Native American human remains and objects. To fulfill the Secretary of the Interior's responsibilities under NAGPRA, National NAGPRA has taken some actions consistent with the act, such as publishing notices in the Federal Registerand administering a grants program. However, GAO identified some actions of concern. National NAGPRA developed a list of Indian tribes eligible under NAGPRA that was inconsistent with BIA's official list of federally recognized tribes and departmental policy. Furthermore, National NAGPRA did not always screen nominations for Review Committee positions properly and, in a few cases, inappropriately recruited nominees for Review Committee positions. Through fiscal year 2009, 55 percent of the human remains and 68 percent of the associated funerary objects that have been published in notices of inventory completion had been repatriated, according to agency data and GAO's survey results. Agencies are required to permanently document their repatriations, but they are not required to compile and report that information to anyone. Only three agencies--the Corps, the Forest Service, and NPS--centrally track their repatriations. These three agencies, however, along with the other federal agencies that have published notices, generally do not report any of their data on repatriations to National NAGPRA or to Congress. As a result, policymakers, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiians organizations do not have access to readily available information about culturally affiliated NAGPRA items that have not been repatriated. According to officials, the remaining items have not been repatriated for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of repatriation requests and financial constraints.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, and the Interior as well as TVA report to Congress the actions that they need to take to fully comply with the act and that they report the status of their repatriations to National NAGPRA. GAO is also recommending that National NAGPRA make improvements in its facilitation of the act. Agriculture, Interior, and TVA agreed with GAO's recommendations. The Department of Defense did not provide comments on the report.