III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 49 

Supporting efforts to stop the theft, illegal possession or sale, transfer, and 

export of tribal cultural items of Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native 

Hawaiians in the United States and internationally. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2016 

Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. HEINRICH) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Supporting efforts to stop the theft, illegal possession or 

sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural items of Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians in the United 

States and internationally. 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This concurrent resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Pro5 tection of the Right of Tribes to stop the Export of Cul6 tural and Traditional Patrimony Resolution’’ or the 

7 ‘‘PROTECT Patrimony Resolution’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this resolution: 

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

4 American’’ means— 

5 (A) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 

6 2 of the Native American Graves Protection 

7 and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)); 

8 (B) a member of an Indian tribe described 

9 in subparagraph (A); or 

10 (C) a Native Hawaiian (as defined in sec11 tion 2 of the Native American Graves Protec12 tion and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)). 

13 (2) TRIBAL CULTURAL ITEM.—The term ‘‘tribal 

14 cultural item’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘cul15 tural item’’ in section 2 of the Native American 

16 Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 

17 3001). 

18 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

19 Congress finds the following: 

20 (1) Tribal cultural items— 

21 (A) have ongoing historical, traditional, or 

22 cultural importance central to a Native Amer23 ican group or culture; 

24 (B) cannot be alienated, appropriated, or 

25 conveyed by any individual; and 


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1 (C) are vital to Native American cultural 

2 survival and the maintenance of Native Amer3 ican ways of life. 

4 (2) The nature and description of tribal cultural 

5 items are sensitive and to be treated with respect 

6 and confidentiality, as appropriate. 

7 (3) Violators often export tribal cultural items 

8 internationally with the intent of evading Federal 

9 and tribal laws. 

10 (4) Tribal cultural items continue to be re11 moved from the possession of Native Americans and 

12 sold in black or public markets in violation of Fed13 eral and tribal laws, including laws designed to pro14 tect Native American cultural property rights. 

15 (5) The illegal trade of tribal cultural items in16 volves a sophisticated and lucrative black market, 

17 where the items are traded through domestic mar18 kets and then are often exported internationally. 

19 (6) Auction houses in foreign countries have 

20 held sales of tribal cultural items from the Pueblo of 

21 Acoma, the Pueblo of Laguna, the Pueblo of San 

22 Felipe, the Hopi Tribe, and other Indian tribes. 

23 (7) After tribal cultural items are exported 

24 internationally, Native Americans have difficulty 

25 stopping the sale of the items and securing their reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 15, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SC49.IS SC49

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1 patriation to their home communities, where the 

2 items belong. 

3 (8) Federal agencies have a responsibility to 

4 consult with Native Americans to stop the theft, ille5 gal possession or sale, transfer, and export of tribal 

6 cultural items. 

7 (9) An increase in the investigation and suc8 cessful prosecution of violations of the Native Amer9 ican Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 

10 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) and the Archaeological Re11 sources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et 

12 seq.) is necessary to deter illegal trading in tribal 

13 cultural items. 

14 (10) Many Indian tribes and tribal organiza15 tions have passed resolutions condemning the theft 

16 and sale of tribal cultural items, including the fol17 lowing: 

18 (A) The National Congress of American 

19 Indians passed Resolutions SAC–12–008 and 

20 SD–15–075 to call on the United States, in 

21 consultation with Native Americans— 

22 (i) to address international repatri23 ation; and 

24 (ii) to take affirmative actions to stop 

25 the theft and illegal sale of tribal cultural 


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1 items both domestically and internation2 ally. 

3 (B) The All Pueblo Council of Governors, 

4 representative of 20 Pueblo Indian tribes— 

5 (i) noted that the Pueblo Indian tribes 

6 of the Southwestern United States have 

7 been disproportionately affected by the sale 

8 of tribal cultural items both domestically 

9 and internationally in violation of Federal 

10 and tribal laws; and 

11 (ii) passed Resolutions 2015–12 and 

12 2015–13 to call on the United States, in 

13 consultation with Native Americans— 

14 (I) to address international repa15 triation; and 

16 (II) to take affirmative actions to 

17 stop the theft and illegal sale of tribal 

18 cultural items both domestically and 

19 internationally. 

20 (C) The United South and Eastern Tribes, 

21 an intertribal organization comprised of 26 fed22 erally recognized Indian tribes, passed Resolu23 tion 2015:007, which calls on the United States 

24 to address all means to support the repatriation 


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1 of tribal cultural items from beyond United 

2 States borders. 

3 (D) The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five 

4 Civilized Tribes, uniting the Chickasaw, Choc5 taw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole 

6 Nations, passed Resolution 12–07, which re7 quests that the United States, after consulta8 tion with Native Americans, assist in inter9 national repatriation and take immediate action 

10 to address repatriation. 

11 SEC. 4. DECLARATION OF CONGRESS. 

12 Congress— 

13 (1) condemns the theft, illegal possession or 

14 sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural items; 

15 (2) calls on the Secretary of the Interior, the 

16 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney 

18 General to consult with Native Americans, including 

19 traditional Native American religious leaders, in ad20 dressing the practices described in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) to take affirmative action to stop the 

22 practices; and 

23 (B) to secure repatriation of tribal cultural 

24 items to Native Americans; 


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1 (3) calls on the Comptroller General of the 

2 United States— 

3 (A) to conduct a study to determine the 

4 scope of illegal trafficking in tribal cultural 

5 items domestically and internationally; and 

6 (B) to identify, in consultation with Native 

7 Americans, including traditional Native Amer8 ican religious leaders, steps required— 

9 (i) to end illegal trafficking in, and 

10 the export of, tribal cultural items; and 

11 (ii) to secure repatriation of tribal cul12 tural items to the appropriate Native 

13 Americans; 

14 (4) supports the development of explicit restric15 tions on the export of tribal cultural items; and 

16 (5) encourages State and local governments and 

17 interested groups and organizations to work coopera18 tively in— 

19 (A) deterring the theft, illegal possession 

20 or sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural 

21 items; and 

22 (B) securing the repatriation of tribal cul23 tural items to the appropriate Native Ameri24 cans. 

Æ 


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