The Native American Graves Protection and Repatria

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i-newswire.com/pr56727.html

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Impedes
Scientific Progress
According to a new study by Dr. Elizabeth Weiss, an anthropology
professor at San José State University, the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) negatively affects anthropology
research.



(I-Newswire) - ( St. Louis, MO. – February 19, 2006 ) According to a new
study by Dr. Elizabeth Weiss, an anthropology professor at San José
State University, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act ( NAGPRA ) negatively affects anthropology research. NAGPRA is a
Federal law passed in 1990 that requires universities and other agencies
to provide opportunities for Native American tribes to obtain affiliated
human remains.

Many anthropologists support returning human remains to Native American
tribes. Some anthropologists even speculate that repatriation will
reduce gaps in knowledge of specific times and geographic areas, require
comprehensive studies, and increase use of uniform methods. As a
reaction to NAGPRA, a standards book was published that put forth a
uniform set of procedures for examining skeletons.

Weiss examined articles covering the past thirty years from the leading
anthropology journal to find out how NAGPRA affected research. Her
results, which she presented at the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in St. Louis, Missouri, show that compared to
pre-NAGPRA, studies on Native American remains decreased and
anthropologists published on fewer sites and states. Over 70% of
studies came from sites in nine states; in four of these states research
decreased since 1990. Only one-third of studies used uniform methods.
These results indicate that NAGPRA impedes scientific progress.


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To respond contact Dr. Elizabeth Weiss at 408-924-5546 ( work );
408-687-6354 ( cell ); or [e-mail]. Also, see Weiss’s
website: www.anthrosciences.com