III 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 122 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 
Received 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Supporting efforts to stop the theft, illegal possession or 
sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural items of 
American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians 
in the United States and internationally. 
Whereas this resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Protection of 
the Right of Tribes to stop the Export of Cultural and 
Traditional Patrimony Resolution’’ or the ‘‘PROTECT 
Patrimony Resolution’’; 
Whereas the tribal cultural items of American Indians, Alas-
ka Natives, and Native Hawaiians (collectively ‘‘tribes’’ 
or 
‘‘Native 
Americans’’) 
in 
the 
United 
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States of America include ancestral remains, funerary ob-
jects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony 
(hereinafter ‘‘tribal cultural items’’), which are objects 
that have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural im-
portance central to a Native American group or culture 
itself, and which, therefore, cannot be alienated, appro-
priated, or conveyed by any individual; 
Whereas tribal cultural items are vital to tribal cultural sur-
vival and the maintenance of tribal ways of life; 
Whereas the nature and the description of tribal cultural 
items are sensitive and to be treated with respect and 
confidentiality, as appropriate; 
Whereas violators often export tribal cultural items overseas 
with the intent of evading Federal and tribal laws; 
Whereas tribal cultural items continue to be removed from 
tribal possession and sold in black or public markets in 
violation of Federal and tribal laws, including laws de-
signed to protect tribal cultural property rights; 
Whereas the illegal trade of tribal cultural items involves a 
sophisticated and lucrative black market, as items make 
their way through domestic markets, and then are often 
exported overseas; 
Whereas auction houses in foreign countries have held sales 
of tribal cultural items from the Pueblo of Acoma, the 
Pueblo of Laguna, the Pueblo of San Felipe, the Hopi 
Tribe, and other tribes; 
Whereas after tribal cultural items are exported abroad, 
tribes have difficulty stopping the sale of these items and 
securing their repatriation to their home communities, 
where the items belong; 
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Whereas Federal agencies have a responsibility to consult 
with tribes to stop the theft, illegal possession or sale, 
transfer, and export of tribal cultural items; 
Whereas an increase in the investigation and successful pros-
ecution of violations of the Native American Graves Pro-
tection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) 
and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (16 
U.S.C. 470aa–470mm) is necessary to deter illegal trad-
ers; and 
Whereas many tribes and tribal organizations have passed 
resolutions condemning the theft and sale of tribal cul-
tural items, including— 
(1) the National Congress of American Indians 
passed Resolutions SAC–12–008 and SD–15–075 to call 
upon the United States, in consultation with tribes, to 
address international repatriation and take affirmative 
actions to stop the theft and illegal sale of tribal cultural 
items both domestically and abroad; 
(2) the All Pueblo Council of Governors, representa-
tive of 20 Pueblo Indian tribes, noting that the Pueblo 
Indian tribes of the southwestern United States have 
been disproportionately affected by the illegal sale of trib-
al cultural items both domestically and internationally 
and in violation of Federal and tribal laws, passed Reso-
lutions Nos. 2015–12 and 2015–13 to call upon the 
United States, in consultation with tribes, to address 
international repatriation and take affirmative actions to 
stop the theft and illegal sale of tribal cultural items both 
domestically and abroad; 
(3) the United South and Eastern Tribes, an inter-
tribal organization comprised of 26 federally recognized 
tribes, passed Resolution No. 2015:007, which calls upon 
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the United States to address all means to support repa-
triation of ancestral remains and cultural items from be-
yond United States borders; and 
(4) the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized 
Tribes, uniting the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, 
Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations, passed Resolu-
tion No. 12–07, which requests that the United States 
assist in international repatriations and take immediate 
action, after consultation with tribes, to address repatri-
ation: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) condemns the theft, illegal possession or 
sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural items; 
(2) calls upon the Secretaries of the Depart-
ment of the Interior, the Department of State, the 
Department of Commerce, and the Department of 
Homeland Security and the Attorney General to con-
sult with tribes and traditional Native American reli-
gious leaders in addressing this important issue, to 
take affirmative action to stop these illegal practices, 
and to secure repatriation of tribal cultural items to 
tribes; 
(3) supports the development of explicit restric-
tions on the export of tribal cultural items; and 
(4) encourages State and local governments and 
interested groups and organizations to work coopera-
tively in deterring the theft, illegal possession or 
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sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural items and 
in securing the repatriation of tribal cultural items. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 21, 
2016. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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