ABSTRACT

In 1990 and as part of a sometimes tense and conflicted process, Congress passed, and President George Bush signed into law, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a result of more than thirty years of Native American political action. As with other legislation, such as the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act, American Indians heralded the day as a victory, but a majority of anthropologists, and especially archaeologists, considered it a serious threat. Many in anthropology, archaeology, and sister disciplines believed that their basic right to conduct research as scientists was being compromised and they mounted their own campaign to defend their scientific right and authority to continue their historical practices of unfettered study of Native American peoples, cultures, and prehistory.