NAGPRA’s Politics of Recognition: Repatriation Struggles of a Terminated Tribe

Abstract:What started as a seemingly straightforward consultation request from the Yale Peabody Museum (YPM) to the Brothertown Indian Nation turned into a politics of recognition that relied on the connection between the Federal Acknowledgment Process (FAP) and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The consultation was meant to discuss a pipe that qualified for disposition to the Brother-town, the same pipe that was requested for repatriation by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut under NAGPRA. As the tribal historic preservation officer (THPO) for the Brothertown, I was charged with corroborating the historical connection between the Brothertown and the pipe that was established initially by the YPM. Corroborating affiliation of the pipe with the Brothertown was only the first step in a plan to draft our own request for disposition of the pipe. However, along the way, the information gathered was being used in a political game of authenticating Indianness using not only federal standards but also the tribal standards of each of the two Native nations involved. This case study tracks the methodology for making repatriation requests on behalf of a federally unrecognized tribe by outlining the process of gathering historical records to establish affiliation. Broadly, this article explores the precarious nature of petitioning for repatriations on behalf of an unrecognized tribe and how institutions exploit the recognition status of tribes in an effort to maintain control over cultural items.