From “relics” to cultural belongings
The word “relic” suggests something left over from a finished past. For Apache nations, the objects in question are better understood as belongings of living communities: things made by ancestors, connected to families and ceremonial life, and in some cases not meant to be treated as display items at all. The central legal framework in the United States for returning some of those belongings is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, usually called NAGPRA, passed by Congress in 1990.
What NAGPRA does
In general terms, NAGPRA requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funds, such as many museums and universities, to inventory certain Native American materials and to consult with lineal descendants and with federally recognized tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Where a cultural connection is established, eligible items can be returned, a process known as repatriation. The law covers four main categories:
- human remains
- funerary objects (items placed with the dead)
- sacred objects needed for traditional religious practice
- objects of cultural patrimony, meaning items with ongoing importance to a group as a whole rather than to an individual owner
The law also addresses the handling of such materials found on federal and tribal lands, and it sets out procedures for notice, claims and disputes. It applies to federally recognized tribes. Not every Apache community is federally recognized, and that fact shapes who can make a claim under the statute; descendant communities without that status, such as some Lipan Apache groups, may pursue other forms of dialogue with institutions. The regulations implementing NAGPRA were revised in the 2020s to place more weight on consultation and on the knowledge of tribal communities, but readers should check current federal sources rather than rely on a summary for details.
How a claim generally works
The process is not a single step but a series. An institution compiles summaries and inventories of its holdings, notifies relevant nations, and consults. A nation may then submit a claim showing, through kinship, geography, oral tradition, historical records and other evidence, its connection to the remains or objects. If the claim meets the legal standard, the institution transfers the items. The nations decide what happens next; the way an ancestor is reburied or an object is cared for is a private matter and is not described publicly here.
Several things make Apache claims complicated. Many Apache groups moved across wide areas, and records of where an item came from may be thin. Boundaries between nations were not always the same as the labels used by collectors, and some historical collections list items simply as “Apache”. Determining which present-day nation is the right claimant can therefore require careful research and cooperation, including, at times, joint claims by several nations. Because the circumstances of individual cases vary, this article does not name particular claims or outcomes.
Preservation as a living practice
Preservation can mean different things. For museums it often means climate control, storage and conservation. For Apache communities it can also mean continuing use, teaching and care according to cultural protocols. An item kept in a perfect storage environment may still be in the wrong place from a community’s point of view, while another may be used and handled in ways a museum would not allow. These aims can coexist, and many institutions now work with nations on shared care, loans or return.
Some nations maintain cultural preservation or historic preservation offices that handle consultations, and some operate their own museums or cultural centers. The general history of how objects entered collections is covered in the article on Apache museum collections.
Related legal and ethical issues
The protection of burial places and sacred sites sits alongside NAGPRA but is a separate subject, and the law does not cover every kind of object, such as items held by private owners with no federal link. The trade in Native American items, including illegal digging and sale, remains a concern, and ethical standards in the museum and collecting worlds have been shifting toward consent and consultation.
This article offers general information, not legal advice. For current requirements, procedures and contact points, consult the official websites of the Apache nations, the National Park Service’s NAGPRA programme, and qualified legal counsel.