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State archaeologist urges coordinated NAGPRA work in Texas as database gaps persist
Summary
State Archaeologist Brad Jones told the Texas Historical Commission that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act requires broad consultation and repatriation but that federal reporting is incomplete; he urged THC help convening tribes and holding institutions to address inventory, capacity and access to reburial lands.
Brad Jones, State Archaeologist and Archaeology Division Director, told the Texas Historical Commission on Jan. 30 that while the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) provides a framework for returning Native ancestors and funerary items held by federally funded institutions, the federal NAGPRA database is incomplete and sometimes inaccurate for Texas collections.
"The database gives us a snapshot," Jones said, "but it is not comprehensive and not necessarily accurate."
Jones told commissioners the nationwide database lists more than 80,000 collections identified as subject to NAGPRA; the Texas slice of that record lists about 3,332 individuals from 157 Texas counties and 45 facilities reporting Texas-origin material. He said many institutional collections originally…
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