Logan Museum receives repatriation grant
A grant is accelerating progress by the Logan Museum of Anthropology and the anthropology department as they work to comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
The funds will help facilitate the repatriation of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects stewarded by the museum and Beloit’s anthropology department, a key objective in the museum’s 2021-25 strategic plan. The grant supports consultations with Native American tribes in the Midwest, Southeast, and California.
“Accelerating NAGPRA consultations and repatriations and discontinued use of human remains in teaching directly supports Beloit’s Becoming Better initiative,” says Nicolette Meister, director of the Logan Museum. Becoming Better is Beloit’s roadmap to centering anti-racism and equity in its operations.
The museum and anthropology department have discontinued the use of all human remains in teaching, regardless of the remains’ origins.
NAGPRA provides a process for museums and federal agencies to return human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations. The Logan Museum has been working to comply with NAGPRA since it became federal law in 1990.
