We continue to move forward with our 6th Annual Repatriation Conference planning, including preparations for 
alternative virtual format options.

​Though current projections suggest coronavirus (COVID-19) public health measures could limit in-person gatherings through October, the Association and the University of Denver are committed to holding the Conference with appropriate health precautions — whether in smaller in-person groups or virtually. We will release additional information as the situation develops and encourage you to join our mailing list for future updates. Be well and please stay healthy.

6th Annual Repatriation Conference
Growing Community & Moving Forward after 30 Years of NAGPRA

​The Association on American Indian Affairs and the University of Denver is partnering for the 6th Annual Repatriation Conference in Denver, Colorado, October 27-28, 2020, with pre-Conference workshops on October 26.  
 
November 16, 2020 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. NAGPRA is the first and only Native American human rights legislation that requires the repatriation of cultural heritage that has been held by museums and government agencies. The Conference will look backwards to recognize and commemorate the importance of this landmark legislation and provide forward-looking strategies to grow and strengthen the repatriation community. In essence, this 30th anniversary of NAGPRA will allow us to look backward “to find tools that allow us to walk into the future.”
 
This 6th Annual Conference is intended for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Nations, museums, institutions, government agencies, academics, attorneys, collectors, artists, cultural preservationists and others engaged or interested in the repatriation of culture. Repatriation is the return of Native American Ancestors and their burial items, as well as the return of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Together, we will critically analyze the future of NAGPRA and learn how to advance its implementation across disciplines, while gaining a better understanding of repatriation in the U.S. and abroad. Sessions will focus on the future of repatriation work, under NAGPRA, as well as repatriation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage where NAGPRA does not currently apply.

It is now the moment of the seventh fire, and “the people of the Seventh Fire do not yet walk forward; rather, they are told to turn around and retrace the steps of the ones who brought us here. Their sacred purpose is to walk back along the red road of our ancestors' path and to gather up all the fragments that lay scattered along the trail"... The task of the moment . . . is “to find tools that allow us to walk into the future”... Those tools are needed for lighting the eighth fire... an everlasting fire of peace that can be lit by all humans, but that depends on our actions today. 
Heller and McElhinny, Language, Capitalism, Colonialism: Toward a Critical History (p. 15) quoting from Robin Wall Zimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (p 368-69).

In partnership with the University of Denver, the Association will be commemorating
the 30th Anniversary of NAGPRA (and going beyond NAGPRA).
The Association will also be planning NATIONAL EVENTS to take place all around Indian Country (including at Arizona State University) to memorialize NAGPRA’s anniversary and 
​advocate for stronger repatriation practices in October and November 2020.

Without culture, we cannot exist as distinct and sovereign peoples. 
The mission of the Association is to fight to strengthen Native American Cultural Sovereignty.  The Association has been a leader in protecting Cultural Sovereignty – the things that make us who we are – through its Repatriation, International Repatriation and Protection of Sacred Sites initiatives, as well as ensuring that culture is passed on through its Youth initiatives. The Association has advocated for the protection and repatriation of cultural items and sacred lands for almost 100 years, including the development of the National Museum of the American Indian Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the Safeguarding Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and other new legislation that will support the return and protection of our Cultural Heritage. The Association also provides training and technical assistance to Tribes and others, and is involved with repatriation of private collections both domestically and internationally from institutions, individuals and auctions.