ABSTRACT
For thousands of years prior to European invasion, Indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere effectively managed their cultural and natural resources. Ancestral sites, sacred sites, community sites, and burial areas were cared for, utilized for ceremonies, and often discussed in oral traditions. After European invasion, American Indian, First Nations, and Indigenous peoples were disposed of their lands, and often denied access to areas of cultural and spiritual significance. Indigenous people in many areas often have to request permission to access their own sacred areas. As settlers moved into Indian country, looting and destruction of cultural, sacred, and burial sites became common, and millions of cultural items and thousands of human remains were removed from ancestral sites and obtained by museums, educational institutions, and collectors.
