H. R. 2930 
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two 
An Act 
To enhance protections of Native American tangible cultural heritage, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguard Tribal Objects of 
Patrimony Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to carry out the trust responsibility of the United States 
to Indian Tribes; 
(2) to increase the maximum penalty for actions taken 
in violation of the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (including section 
1170 of title 18, United States Code, as added by that Act), 
in order to strengthen deterrence; 
(3) to stop the export, and facilitate the international repa-
triation, of cultural items prohibited from being trafficked by 
the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 
(25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (including section 1170 of title 18, 
United States Code, as added by that Act) and archaeological 
resources prohibited from being trafficked by the Archaeological 
Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.) 
by— 
(A) explicitly prohibiting the export; 
(B) creating an export certification system; and 
(C) confirming the authority of the President to request 
from foreign nations agreements or provisional measures 
to prevent irremediable damage to Native American cul-
tural heritage; 
(4) to establish a Federal framework in order to support 
the voluntary return by individuals and organizations of items 
of tangible cultural heritage, including items covered by the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 
U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (including section 1170 of title 18, United 
States Code, as added by that Act) and the Archaeological 
Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.); 
(5) to establish an interagency working group to ensure 
communication between Federal agencies to successfully imple-
ment this Act, the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (including section 
1170 of title 18, United States Code, as added by that Act),
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the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 
470aa et seq.), and other relevant Federal laws; 
(6) to establish a Native working group of Indian Tribes 
and Native Hawaiian organizations to assist in the implementa-
tion of this Act, the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (including section 
1170 of title 18, United States Code, as added by that Act), 
the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 
470aa et seq.), and other relevant Federal laws; 
(7) to exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 
5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of 
Information Act’’)— 
(A) information submitted by Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations pursuant to this Act; and 
(B) information relating to an Item Requiring Export 
Certification for which an export certification was denied 
pursuant to this Act; and 
(8) to encourage buyers to purchase legal contemporary 
art made by Native artists for commercial purposes. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE.—The term ‘‘archaeological 
resource’’ means an archaeological resource (as defined in sec-
tion 3 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 
(16 U.S.C. 470bb)) that is Native American. 
(2) CULTURAL AFFILIATION.—The term ‘‘cultural affiliation’’ 
means that there is a relationship of shared group identity 
that can be reasonably traced historically or prehistorically 
between a present day Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization and an identifiable earlier group. 
(3) CULTURAL ITEM.—The term ‘‘cultural item’’ means any 
1 or more cultural items (as defined in section 2 of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 
3001)). 
(4) INDIAN
TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ has the 
meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in section 2 of the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 
U.S.C. 3001). 
(5) ITEM PROHIBITED FROM EXPORTATION.—The term ‘‘Item 
Prohibited from Exportation’’ means— 
(A) a cultural item prohibited from being trafficked, 
including through sale, purchase, use for profit, or trans-
port for sale or profit, by— 
(i) section 1170(b) of title 18, United States Code, 
as added by the Native American Graves Protection 
and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); or 
(ii) any other Federal law or treaty; and 
(B) an archaeological resource prohibited from being 
trafficked, including through sale, purchase, exchange, 
transport, receipt, or offer to sell, purchase, or exchange, 
including in interstate or foreign commerce, by— 
(i) subsections (b) and (c) of section 6 of the Archae-
ological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 
470ee); or 
(ii) any other Federal law or treaty. 
(6) ITEM REQUIRING EXPORT CERTIFICATION.—
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Item Requiring Export 
Certification’’ means— 
(i) a cultural item; and 
(ii) an archaeological resource. 
(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Item Requiring Export 
Certification’’ does not include an item described in clause 
(i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) for which an Indian Tribe 
or Native Hawaiian organization with a cultural affiliation 
with the item has provided a certificate authorizing expor-
tation of the item. 
(7) NATIVE
AMERICAN.—The term ‘‘Native American’’ 
means— 
(A) Native American (as defined in section 2 of the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 
(25 U.S.C. 3001)); and 
(B) Native Hawaiian (as so defined). 
(8) NATIVE
HAWAIIAN
ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Native 
Hawaiian organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatri-
ation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001). 
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of the Interior. 
(10) TANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE.—The term ‘‘tangible 
cultural heritage’’ means— 
(A) Native American human remains; or 
(B) culturally, historically, or archaeologically signifi-
cant objects, resources, patrimony, or other items that are 
affiliated with a Native American culture. 
SEC. 4. ENHANCED NAGPRA PENALTIES. 
Section 1170 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘5 years’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘10 years’’; and 
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘12 months’’ and inserting 
‘‘1 year and 1 day’’. 
SEC. 5. EXPORT PROHIBITIONS; EXPORT CERTIFICATION SYSTEM; 
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS. 
(a) EXPORT PROHIBITIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any person— 
(A) to export, attempt to export, or otherwise transport 
from the United States any Item Prohibited from Expor-
tation; 
(B) to conspire with any person to engage in an activity 
described in subparagraph (A); or 
(C) to conceal an activity described in subparagraph 
(A). 
(2) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates paragraph (1) 
and knows, or in the exercise of due care should have known, 
that the Item Prohibited from Exportation was taken, pos-
sessed, transported, or sold in violation of, or in a manner 
unlawful under, any Federal law or treaty, shall be fined in 
accordance with section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, 
imprisoned for not more than 1 year and 1 day for a first 
violation, and not more than 10 years for a second or subse-
quent violation, or both. 
(3) DETENTION, FORFEITURE, AND REPATRIATION.—