Essay On Native American Anthropology

Before 1990, there was no legislation about the use of Native American remains and artifacts in science and in museums. Native American groups had been dealing with the issue of their cultural items being taken from them since the arrival of the first Europeans, but unfortunately the law was never on their side. In 1988, they brought the issue to court. Officials from various tribes came forth with a staggering number of how many Native American skeletons and remains were currently under control of museums across the country: 43,306 in 163 museums in the United States. They made their case for the return of Native American remains and for the protection of Native American graves. It was just two years after this that the Native American Graves …show more content…
On the flip side, there are those who think that it hinders important scientific work, and prevents learning more about ancient human history. One archaeologist sees NAGPRA as not just an inconvenience, but a serious obstacle that stands in the way of studying the prehistory of Native Americans, and could possibly lead to the entire field of Native American archaeologists being put out of work. Another archaeologists sees repatriation of items to Native Americans as the right thing to do, and not just because it is the law, but because it is the archaeologists ethical right to realize that they have a deep culture that for them goes back a long time. This archaeologists believes that working with Native Americans can allow them to guide us through their past. Today archaeologists strive to form relationships with NA and have a generally better understanding of their spiritual beliefs and the way that the excavation of these objects can affect them. (SROUCE) There has also been more participation by Native American groups by encouragement from archaeologists, as well as more Native Americans pursuing careers in archaeology.