II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1400 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance protections of Native 

American tangible cultural heritage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 21, 2017 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. UDALL, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. 

SCHATZ, Mr. DAINES, Mr. TESTER, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance protections of Native American tangible cultural heritage, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguard Tribal Ob5 jects of Patrimony Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FOR NATIVE AMERICAN 

2 CULTURAL HERITAGE. 

3 (a) ENHANCED PENALTIES.—Section 1170 of title 

4 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’ 

5 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

6 (b) PROHIBITION OF EXPORTING NATIVE AMERICAN

7 CULTURAL HERITAGE.—Chapter 53 of title 18, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 1171. Illegal exportation of Native American cul11 tural heritage 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE.—The term 

14 ‘archaeological resource’ has the meaning given the 

15 term in section 3 of the Archaeological Resources 

16 Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb). 

17 ‘‘(2) CULTURAL ITEM.—The term ‘cultural 

18 item’ has the meaning given the term in section 2 

19 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repa20 triation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001). 

21 ‘‘(3) NATIVE AMERICAN.—The term ‘Native 

22 American’ has the meaning given the term in section 

23 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and Re24 patriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001). 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per2 son to knowingly export or otherwise transport from the 

3 United States any— 

4 ‘‘(1) Native American cultural item that was 

5 obtained in violation of section 1170 of this title or 

6 section 3(c) of the Native American Graves Protec7 tion and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3002(c)); 

8 ‘‘(2) Native American archaeological resource 

9 that was obtained in violation of the Archaeological 

10 Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa 

11 et seq.); or 

12 ‘‘(3) Native American object of antiquity that 

13 was obtained in violation of section 1866(b) of this 

14 title. 

15 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 

16 (b) shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) in the case of a first violation under this 

18 section, be fined under this title, imprisoned for not 

19 more than 1 year, or both; and 

20 ‘‘(2) in the case of a second or subsequent vio21 lation under this section, be fined under this title, 

22 imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.’’. 

23 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General and Sec24 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec25 retary of the Interior, shall prescribe such rules and reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jun 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1400.IS S1400

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1 lations as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the 

2 amendments made by this section. 

3 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

4 The table of sections for chapter 53 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

‘‘1171. Illegal exportation of Native American cultural heritage.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the 

11 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation 

12 Act (25 U.S.C. 3001). 

13 (2) NATIVE AMERICAN.—The term ‘‘Native 

14 American’’ has the meaning given the term in sec15 tion 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and 

16 Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001). 

17 (3) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

18 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ has the mean19 ing given the term in section 2 of the Native Amer20 ican Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 

21 U.S.C. 3001). 

22 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 (5) TANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE.—The 

25 term ‘‘tangible cultural heritage’’ means— 


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1 (A) Native American human remains; or 

2 (B) culturally, historically, or archaeologi3 cally significant objects, resources, patrimony, 

4 or other items that are affiliated with a Native 

5 American culture. 

6 SEC. 4. VOLUNTARY RETURN OF TANGIBLE CULTURAL 

7 HERITAGE. 

8 (a) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 

9 States to encourage the voluntary return of tangible cul10 tural heritage to Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian orga11 nizations by collectors, dealers, and other individuals and 

12 non-Federal organizations that hold such heritage. 

13 (b) LIAISON.—The Secretary and the Secretary of 

14 State shall each designate a liaison to facilitate the vol15 untary return of tangible cultural heritage. 

16 (c) TRAININGS AND WORKSHOPS.—The individuals 

17 listed in subsection (b) shall hold trainings and workshops 

18 for representatives of Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian 

19 organizations and collectors, dealers, and other individuals 

20 and non-Federal organizations regarding the voluntary re21 turn of tangible cultural heritage. 

22 (d) REFERRALS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall refer in24 dividuals and organizations to one or more Indian 

25 tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations with a likely 


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1 cultural affiliation to tangible cultural heritage for 

2 the purpose of facilitating the voluntary return of 

3 tangible cultural heritage. 

4 (2) REFERRAL REPRESENTATIVES.—The Sec5 retary shall compile a list of representatives from 

6 each Indian tribe and Native Hawaiian organization 

7 for purposes of referral under paragraph (1). 

8 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con9 sult with Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organi10 zations that possess unique expertise in their cul11 tural heritage before making a referral under para12 graph (1). 

13 (4) THIRD-PARTY EXPERTS.—The Secretary 

14 may utilize knowledgeable experts from regional aca15 demic institutions and museums to aid in making 

16 determinations regarding to which Indian tribe or 

17 Native Hawaiian organization an individual or orga18 nization should be referred under paragraph (1). 

19 SEC. 5. TRIBAL WORKING GROUP. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convene a 

21 tribal working group consisting of representatives of In22 dian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to advise 

23 the Federal Government. 


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1 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The tribal working group 

2 convened under subsection (a) may provide recommenda3 tions regarding— 

4 (1) the return of tangible cultural heritage by 

5 collectors, dealers, and other individuals and non6 Federal organizations that hold such tangible cul7 tural heritage; 

8 (2) the elimination of illegal commerce in tan9 gible cultural heritage in the United States and for10 eign markets; and 

11 (3) the repatriation to Indian tribes and Native 

12 Hawaiian organizations of tangible cultural heritage 

13 that have been illegally removed or trafficked in vio14 lation of Federal law. 

15 (c) AGENCY AND COMMITTEE ASSISTANCE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The agencies and commit17 tees described in paragraph (2) shall provide infor18 mation and assistance to the tribal working group 

19 convened under subsection (a) upon request by the 

20 tribal working group. 

21 (2) AGENCIES AND COMMITTEES.—The agen22 cies and committees described in this paragraph are 

23 the following: 

24 (A) The Department of the Interior. 

25 (B) The Department of Justice. 


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1 (C) The Department of Homeland Secu2 rity. 

3 (D) The Department of State. 

4 (E) The Native American Graves Protec5 tion and Repatriation Review Committee estab6 lished under section 8 of the Native American 

7 Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 

8 U.S.C. 3006). 

9 (F) The Cultural Property Advisory Com10 mittee established under section 306 of the 

11 Convention on Cultural Property Implementa12 tion Act (19 U.S.C. 2605). 

13 (G) Any other relevant Federal agency. 

Æ 


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