Summaries are descriptions of Native American items cared for in a museum or collection that may be considered unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony by lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and thus eligible for repatriation.
1. Summaries are provided to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and/or Native Hawaiian organizations to identify interested parties for consultation and an invitation to consult is extended. These summaries vary in detail, depending on the amount of information available.
2. Lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and/or Native Hawaiian organizations may request consultation at any time to discuss items described in the Summary (even if a response waiving consultation had been received in the past). Consultation will commence with the goal of determining cultural affiliation and completing repatriation, if requested.
3. At any time during consultation, lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and/or Native Hawaiian organizations may submit a request for repatriation. Requests are reviewed and a response is provided. If the request is accepted, one or more Notices of Intended Repatriation (NIR) are drafted and published in the Federal Register.
4. After publication, repatriation is concluded with a Repatriation Statement that includes transferring control to the requestor.
You can learn more about Summaries by visiting the National NAGPRA Program’s website here.
To see the most updated reported summary or summaries submitted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, please visit the National NAGPRA Program’s Summaries Database. Use “Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison” in the “Museum or Federal Agency” search field to find the summaries specific to this campus.
If you are having difficulty finding what you need on the National NAGPRA Program’s website, please feel free to Contact Us – we are more than happy to assist with searches.
If you would like to learn more about any items in our collection, please fill out an online Request for Information form.
Lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations may access additional information about ancestral remains and cultural items cared for at the University of Wisconsin via the password-protected link below. If you have not been contacted, but would like to review the available information as an Appropriate Official (43 CFR 10.2), please contact the Campus NAGPRA Coordinator.
UW-Madison NAGPRA Inventory and Summary Details (password-protected)