NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants FY16 | P16AS00002

Opportunity Information: Apply for P16AS00002

The NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants FY16 opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P16AS00002) was a discretionary grant program offered by the National Park Service under CFDA 15.922 to support work required by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The program focused on helping museums and Federal agencies move the NAGPRA process forward through two closely related activities: meaningful consultation with Tribal Nations and Native Hawaiian organizations, and improved documentation that clarifies what items are held, where they came from, and who they are affiliated with.

On the consultation side, the grant emphasized the legal requirement that museums and Federal agencies consult with known Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations while compiling NAGPRA inventories and when responding to claims or expressed interests from potential claimants connected to items listed in NAGPRA summaries. The intent of this consultation is practical and outcome-driven: it should help the parties reach determinations about control of NAGPRA-covered human remains and cultural items, as well as appropriate treatment and disposition, including decisions that can lead toward repatriation when warranted. The opportunity specifically pointed applicants to the consultation framework laid out in the NAGPRA regulations at 43 CFR 10.5, 10.8(a), 10.9(b), and 10.11, signaling that funded work should align with those regulatory steps and expectations.

On the documentation side, the grants supported the kind of research and data development needed to resolve key questions that often slow NAGPRA compliance and repatriation efforts. In this context, "documentation" meant assembling or improving information that can establish the geographic origin of human remains and cultural items, support cultural affiliation determinations, and clarify the basic facts of how the materials were acquired and entered a collection. The overall goal of documentation funding was to strengthen the factual record so that consultation discussions are informed, determinations can be made with greater confidence, and the NAGPRA process can proceed more efficiently and accurately.

Eligibility was broad across institutions that commonly hold or work with collections covered by NAGPRA and organizations positioned to carry out consultation and research activities. Eligible applicants included public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other Native American tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The program anticipated making around 20 awards. The original application closing date was March 11, 2016, and the funding opportunity was created on December 15, 2015. Notably, the listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates that a specific maximum award amount was not stated in the summary field and would need to be confirmed in the full announcement or program guidance.

In short, this grant opportunity was designed to directly support NAGPRA compliance and repatriation outcomes by paying for the time and work involved in consultation with Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, and by funding the documentation needed to establish origin, cultural affiliation, and acquisition history for Native American human remains and cultural items.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants FY16" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.922.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-12-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-03-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for P16AS00002

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