The boulder, the ledge, the proximity to gypsum-bearing surfaces — these are the physical evidence that remains visible.

He is not.

NAGPRA And The Framework That Changed Everything

The passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990 established the formal legal framework that has shaped the relationship between federal institutions and Native communities regarding human remains and cultural items ever since.

NAGPRA required federal agencies and institutions receiving federal funding to inventory their holdings of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and items of cultural patrimony, and to consult with affiliated tribal nations about repatriation.

The law established that human remains belonging to Native American people must be treated with dignity and respect, and that the rights of lineal descendants and culturally affiliated tribes to determine what happens to those remains supersede the interests of institutions in study or display.