Appropriations committee reviews State Historical Society budget, NAGPRA compliance and multimillion-dollar museum projects

Members of the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division heard presentation and questions on the State Historical Society budget during a committee hearing on House Bill 1019 (referenced in the hearing). The discussion covered funding for compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, seasonal staff pay, digital services, a Pembina State Museum exhibit, a proposed military gallery expansion, building and archives maintenance, and multiple proposed local grant amendments.

The budget packet includes a roughly $402,000 request tied to NAGPRA compliance that would fund one permanent FTE and two temporary positions to inventory and work with tribal communities on repatriation; the last statewide inventory was done in 1992. Committee members were also shown one-time operating funds proposed to pay for collection supplies and outside expertise needed to meet new federal triggers and a five-year compliance timeline established under recent federal guidance.

Why it matters: the requests mix recurring staffing and ongoing operating costs with large one-time capital asks that would affect the state’s cash and bonding plans; the military gallery in particular would require a combination of state financing and private fundraising before it can move forward.

NAGPRA and staffing The packet submitted to the committee shows a NAGPRA-related request of a little over $402,000 and the creation of one FTE plus two temporary positions to perform an up-to-date inventory and related compliance work. Committee materials and witnesses said the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was enacted in 1990 and that updated federal guidance has imposed new triggers and a five-year compliance window that the state must meet.

Andrea Wieke, director of administration for the historical agency, described the request as covering personnel authorization plus one-time costs such as background checks and hardware for new…