# Native American Burial Sites and Cultural Resources Protection Act

When the Army Corps of Engineers builds dams, levees, flood control projects, and other water infrastructure across the country, construction crews sometimes uncover Native American burial sites, village remains, and sacred objects. This bill establishes clear rules for what happens when that occurs, giving tribes significant authority over these discoveries and requiring the federal government to pay for proper recovery and reburial.

The core requirement is straightforward: whenever Native American human remains, burial sites, village sites, or sacred ceremonial objects are found during construction of a federally-funded Corps of Engineers project, the government must work with the affected tribes to recover these items respectfully and rebury them in secure locations. The government pays all costs for this work, which must generally be completed within 45 days of discovery. If tribes want to handle the recovery themselves, the government reimburses them for the actual costs, though that reimbursement is capped at 1 percent of the total project cost. The bill also allows tribes to hire their own monitors during construction to watch over sensitive areas, paid for by the federal government.

The law gives tribes real decision-making power throughout the process. Tribes can identify burial and village sites before construction even begins, and the government must accept these identifications. If tribes want to take the lead on recovery and reburial work, they can request a formal agreement with the Army Corps. The bill also protects sensitive information—tribes can share details about burial site locations with the government, and that information stays confidential and cannot be released to the public under freedom of information requests, preventing looting or desecration.

For property owners whose land might be used for reburial areas, the government cannot force them to participate through eminent domain. Instead, the Corps must work cooperatively with willing property owners. The bill essentially shifts the approach from treating these discoveries as archaeological curiosities to treating them as sacred remains deserving of dignity and tribal sovereignty.

Native American Burial Sites and Cultural Resources Protection Act

LaMalfa, Doug

Native American Burial Sites and Cultural Resources Protection Act This bill directs the Department of the Army to identify, and cooperate with appropriate property owners to set aside, areas that may be used for the reburial of Native American human remains and funerary objects that <ul> <li>have been identified or discovered at the site of a civil works project carried out, or operated and maintained, using federal funds; </li> <li> have been rightfully claimed by any affected Indian tribe; and </li> <li>can be reburied in a manner secure from future disturbances. </li> </ul> Army shall issue written guidance for recovery and reburial that meets or exceeds the recovery and reburial standards in policy statements and guidance issued by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Army may not exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire any property for use for reburial. Army may convey to an affected Indian tribe for use as a cemetery or reburial area any area that is located on land owned by Army and has been identified and set aside in accordance with this bill.