10th Annual Repatriation Conference Announcement
The Association’s “10th Annual Repatriation Conference: Igniting Change” continues our longstanding legacy to provide comprehensive training and expertise at a grassroots level to strengthen our collective futures. The 10th Annual Repatriation Conference will be hosted by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe at their Paragon Resort in Marksville, Louisiana on February 25, 26 & 27, 2025.
The theme Igniting Change reflects the Association’s commitment to sparking meaningful progress in repatriation efforts. By addressing the harms of the past and pushing for accountability and collaboration, the Association aims to inspire transformative change in the way institutions engage with Native Nations. This year’s conference will focus on creating new pathways for collaboration, implementing updated laws and regulations, and ensuring the return of Ancestors, their burial belongings, and sensitive cultural heritage.
The Conference will be an intensive training experience and call upon our collective courage to spark respectful and collaborative repatriation
practices that recognize Native Peoples as the true holders and carriers of their own diverse cultures.
This year, the structure of the annual conference has been redesigned to encourage more meaningful interactions through small group trainings and workshops. This Conference will offer comprehensive interactive training on the new Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) regulations, which went into effect in January 2024, provide strict timelines, deference to Native Traditional Knowledge, and robust consultation. Attendees will engage directly with the new regulations and learn best practices for implementation with the guidance of experts, ensuring they walk away with practical, actionable insights. The conference will also focus on international repatriation, illicit trafficking and other issues concerning the protection of Native cultural heritage.
Together, we can ignite profound change when we recognize the harms of the past and actively work together to tend our new fire.
The Association welcomes all Conference attendees in-person for this 3-day interactive training that will provide educational opportunities through keynote speakers, small group interactive workshops, and special cultural events. The Conference is intended for Native Nation and Native Hawaiian Organization leaders, practitioners, Elders and representatives, museums, institutions, government agencies, academics, attorneys, collectors, artists, cultural preservationists and others engaged or interested in the return of diverse cultural heritage.
Without culture, we cannot exist as distinct and sovereign peoples, and we lose our way. The vision of the Association is to create a world where diverse Native cultures are lived, protected and respected. The Association has been a leader in protecting Cultural Sovereignty – the things that make us who we are as Indigenous Peoples – through our targeted initiatives in repatriation and sacred relationships initiatives, as well as ensuring that culture is passed on through our youth initiatives. The Association has advocated for the protection and repatriation of Ancestors, cultural items and sacred lands for more than 100 years, including the development of the National Museum of the American Indian Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the Safeguarding Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act, and other policies and regulations that support the return and protection of our cultural heritage. The Association also provides training and technical assistance to Native Nations and others and is involved with repatriation of private collections both domestically and internationally from institutions, individuals and auctions.
Conference Information: https://www.indian-affairs.org/10thannualrepatriationconference.html
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