Schatz leads roundtable discussion on improving repatriation of Native Hawaiian remains, cultural items

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led a roundtable discussion on the status of repatriating Native Hawaiian ancestral remains and cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and ways to improve the law’s implementation in Hawai‘i.

“We’ve seen a significant uptick in efforts by museums and institutions to comply with federal law and repatriate remains and cultural items back to Native Hawaiians and other Native communities, where they belong,” said Schatz. “But our work is not over, and this discussion was a chance to hear about what Congress can do to strengthen the law to improve compliance and speed up repatriation.”

Joining Schatz in the roundtable discussion were:

• Kaiali‘i Kahele, Chair of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs,
• Dr. Kristofer Helgen, President and CEO of the Bishop Museum
• Dr. Halena Kapuni-Reynolds, Associate Curator of Native Hawaiian History and Culture at the National Museum of the American Indian.
• Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Dean and Professor at the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law.
• Dr. Kēhaunani Abad, Vice President of Uluhiwa Strategy and Experience at Kamehameha Schools.

Since 2023, Schatz has repeatedly pressed more than 70 institutions with the largest unrepatriated NAGPRA collections to comply with the law. As a result, notices of intent from museums and institutions to repatriate NAGPRA items have increased by over 400%.

Schatz is working on new legislation to strengthen NAGPRA in several areas, including creating opportunities for improved relationships between museums and communities, compliance, enforcement, and funding.