Repatriation efforts:
The budget-holder appropriates $367,665 to the University of Montana Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act team to support repatriation efforts.
Congress in 1990 enacted the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, which establishes a process for tribes to request the return of Native American remains and cultural items from institutions that have them.
More than 30 years later, however, not all institutions comply with the law. A ProPublica investigation revealed that the remains of more than 90,000 Native Americans had not been returned as of January 2025.
While University of Montana has made efforts to return remains and other items, the school reported still having the remains of at least 25 Native Americans, according to ProPublica’s database.
