Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology

Repatriation and NAGPRA

Acknowledgement and Commitments

The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology acknowledges the painful history caused to Native American/American Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations and their members, and Alaska Natives by museums and the anthropology profession. We, ourselves, are part of this history and seek to redress it by building new partnerships with tribes.

The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology is committed to complying with the letter and spirit of Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and repatriate all of the Native American ancestors and NAGPRA items in our collections.

The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology is committed to assisting the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the repatriation of the Alaska Native ancestors and NAGPRA items in the collections we steward for the federal government.

The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology is committed to educating our faculty, staff, students and the general public about NAGPRA and its broader implications for Native American health and well-being.

The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology holds Native American archaeological and ethnographic collections, archives, and art acquired through fieldwork, donations, and strategic purchases to enable creative and critical thinking about culture and support the research interests of Brown University faculty and students (learn more at Collections Online).

HMA is also a federal repository for archaeological collections from Western Alaska made by Brown University anthropologists J. Louis Giddings and Douglas Anderson under federal permits, which are managed by the Laboratory for Circumpolar Studies.

HMA recognizes that repatriation can be a traumatic process for tribes, and they will choose to make requests at times that are convenient for them. The museum has submitted summaries and inventories to tribes and the National Park Service according to the timetable established by the law. Tribes may request copies of these at any time. The HMA supports tribes in their applications for National Park Service consultation grants. HMA also invites general inquiries from tribes about our holdings.

All inquiries and claims should be submitted to Thierry Gentis, NAGPRA Coordinator (contact below).

NAGPRA Contact

Thierry Gentis, NAGPRA Coordinator
Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
Collections Research Center
300 Tower Street
Bristol, Rhode Island 02809
Tel: (401) 863-5700
Email: thierry_gentis(at)brown.edu