Wyoming Association of Archaeologists Sues Federal Government Over NAGPRA Regulations
The Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists (WAPA) filed a lawsuit on July 24 in the US District Court for the District of Wyoming against Interior Secretary Douglas J. Burgum and the Bureau of Land Management challenging federal regulations implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). WAPA argues that Interior’s regulatory framework developed “between 2010 and 2024,” including major updates issued in January 2024, exceeds the authority granted by the 1990 statute and unlawfully accelerates transfers while restricting research access. The 2024 rules were intended to speed repatriation, close the “culturally unidentifiable” loophole highlighted in a January 2023 ProPublica investigation, strengthen tribal authority, and require institutions to inventory and prepare remains and funerary objects for repatriation within five years. Filed under the Administrative Procedure Act, the suit asks the court to declare the challenged regulations invalid and bar the government from relying on them.
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This story was covered in Museums on the Move, Dissent on Trial