The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a federal law passed in 1990, requires institutions like museums to return Native American human remains and funerary objects back to their original communities. However, many institutions still unjustly hold large collections, including Chicago’s very own museums and universities. In this piece, I investigate the city’s institutions and the repatriation process, speaking with the U.S. Department of the Interior, academics and tribal leaders.

For Northwestern News Network’s political show, Politicat.