Insights
Perspectives on NAGPRA,
Repatriation & Ethical Practice
Practical guidance from the field — written by Alice Parman and Rachael Carnes to help museums, tribal nations, and international institutions navigate complex obligations with care and clarity.
NAGPRA Compliance for Small Museums: A Practical Starting Point
A practical starting point for the small museum with an uncatalogued storage room, covering the federal funding question, the private-land myth, and what volunteer-run institutions are already doing about both.
Read essayHow to Talk to Your Board About Repatriation
How to bring a museum board into a repatriation decision ready to lead. Three real institutions illustrate the 2023 NAGPRA Final Rule and what the conversation needs to cover.
Read essayWhat Trauma-Informed Interpretation Means in Practice
What it takes to interpret difficult histories without re-traumatizing the people whose stories they are, from community relationship and narrator consent through layered exhibit design and visitor agency.
Read essayThe Door Faces East: How John White and the Pawnee Nation Innovated the Field Museum and the Museum Field
In 1977, Native staff member John White and the Pawnee Nation built the Field Museum's Pawnee Earth Lodge together. The collaboration changed how museums think about Indigenous partnership and exhibit-making.
Read essayWhat the 2024 NAGPRA Final Rule Actually Requires — and What It Doesn't
The 2024 regulations reshaped tribal consultation, repatriation timelines, and institutional obligations. This guide compares what they actually mandate with what institutions have assumed.
Read essayMore essays in progress
Additional guidance on repatriation practice, tribal consultation, and international frameworks will appear here as it is published.
Work with us
Questions these essays raise?
We're available to talk through them.
Our consulting work begins with a complimentary 20-minute conversation — no readiness required, no sales pitch.
Book a conversation