MVC is committed to both the legal and ethical principles of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a federal law allowing tribes to reclaim human remains and sacred objects. New updates to the law in January 2024 require updated inventories of Native objects in museum collections and now include tribal consultation on the exhibition of, access to and research on cultural items in museums. MVC has started implementing these new regulations.
We believe this process creates a tremendous opportunity to learn and deepen our relationships with Indigenous communities. We are working with local tribe members to honor their traditional knowledge and to plan culturally appropriate long-term care and display.