NAGPRA Repatriation Grants | P17AS00003

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00003

The NAGPRA Repatriation Grants opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00003) is a discretionary federal grant program offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior through the National Park Service. It is designed to help cover practical, direct expenses involved in carrying out repatriation work under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). In plain terms, the program helps organizations pay for the real-world logistics and necessary handling involved when returning NAGPRA-related Native American human remains and certain cultural items to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations, or when preparing for respectful reburial or appropriate storage after repatriation.

The core purpose of the grant is to defray costs tied to the physical movement and care of NAGPRA-related materials. The announcement specifically highlights expenses such as packaging and transportation, contamination removal, and reburial and/or storage. These categories reflect common needs in repatriation efforts, including safely preparing remains or cultural items for transfer, meeting health and safety requirements when materials may have been exposed to contaminants, and supporting culturally appropriate dispositions such as reburial. Storage is also included, which can be important when items must be temporarily housed in a secure and respectful way consistent with applicable requirements and community protocols.

This opportunity is listed under multiple funding activity categories, including arts and cultural affairs, education, humanities, law/justice/legal services, and other related areas, reflecting the fact that NAGPRA work often sits at the intersection of cultural stewardship, compliance, collections management, and community-led cultural and spiritual responsibilities. The program is associated with CFDA number 15.922, which is commonly used to track federal assistance programs of this type.

Eligibility is broad and includes a range of governmental, educational, and nonprofit entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The notice also indicates that additional applicant types may be eligible under an "Others" category, with further clarification referenced in the original eligibility details. In practice, this mix of eligible entities aligns with the kinds of organizations that may hold NAGPRA-covered collections, support repatriation logistics, or partner directly with Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations during the return and disposition process.

Funding levels for this specific opportunity are relatively modest but targeted. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $15,000, and the program anticipated making about 15 awards. That structure suggests the grants are intended to solve concrete, well-defined needs like shipping and handling, specialized packaging supplies, travel and transport arrangements, fees or services associated with contamination mitigation, or costs directly tied to reburial or short-term storage required as part of the repatriation process.

In terms of timing and submission requirements, the opportunity was created on October 20, 2016, with an original closing date of June 1, 2017. Applications were accepted on an ongoing basis up to 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on 6/1/17. Applications had to be submitted through Grants.gov unless the applicant obtained a waiver, which is a standard federal process used when an organization cannot reasonably apply through the online portal.

Overall, NAGPRA Repatriation Grants are narrowly focused implementation grants meant to reduce financial barriers to completing repatriation-related actions. Rather than funding broad research or long-term program development, the emphasis is on covering the hands-on, immediate costs required to move, remediate, and appropriately care for or rebury NAGPRA-related human remains and cultural items in a manner consistent with legal requirements and the dignity owed to the individuals and communities involved.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda), education, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), law, justice and legal services, other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NAGPRA Repatriation Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.922.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 20, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 01, 2017 Applications are accepted ongoing through 1159pm Pacific Daylight Time on 6/1/17. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov unless a waiver is obtained.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for P17AS00003

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: