FY2022 NAGPRA Repatriation Grants | P22AS00102

Opportunity Information: Apply for P22AS00102

The FY2022 NAGPRA Repatriation Grants opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P22AS00102) is a discretionary grant program administered by the National Park Service under CFDA 15.922. Its purpose is tightly focused: funding must be used specifically for repatriation activities carried out under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). In this context, "repatriation" means the transfer of control of Native American human remains and/or certain categories of cultural items to the appropriate recipients, including lineal descendants, federally recognized Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations. The program also explicitly supports repatriation actions involving culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains (often referred to as CUI) when disposition is conducted in accordance with 43 CFR 10.11.

The grant is designed to reduce the practical and financial burdens that often accompany repatriation once consultations and determinations have been made. Projects supported by these funds can cover direct, real-world costs such as packaging remains or items for safe handling, transporting them to the receiving community or other agreed location, removing contamination when appropriate, supporting reburial activities, and paying for storage that is specifically connected to NAGPRA-related human remains and cultural items. The program is not framed as a general collections management or research fund; instead, it targets the hands-on steps needed to complete repatriation and disposition responsibilities in a respectful, compliant, and logistically sound way.

Eligibility is limited to entities directly involved in NAGPRA repatriation responsibilities or receipt of repatriated ancestors and items. One eligible category is an Indian tribe, Alaska Native village, or Native Hawaiian organization. For tribes, the announcement relies on the statutory NAGPRA definition and the Department of the Interior interpretation that this applies to the federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native villages recognized by the U.S. government (referenced as 574 in the announcement), with the Bureau of Indian Affairs list cited as the authoritative reference point (www.bia.gov). The notice also clarifies that Alaska regional or village corporations are not included on that list, though they may participate as project partners. For Native Hawaiian organizations, eligibility is described in functional terms: the organization must serve and represent Native Hawaiian interests, have a primary mission of providing services to Native Hawaiians, and possess expertise in Native Hawaiian affairs, with NAGPRA specifically noting that this category includes the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

A second eligible category is museums that have control of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony and that have received federal funds. The announcement uses a broad understanding of "museum," explicitly encompassing state or local government agencies, private institutions, and institutions of higher education, as long as they meet the federal-funds condition. At the same time, the opportunity sets important compliance boundaries: museums found to be out of compliance with NAGPRA may be excluded from consideration. It also draws firm lines around who cannot apply: federal agencies and the Smithsonian Institution are not eligible applicants under this program.

The source data also lists a wide range of applicant types in standard federal eligibility terms (including various levels of government, special districts, public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, and certain nonprofits). Even so, the narrative eligibility requirements remain central, especially the requirement that the applicant be an eligible tribe/NHO or a federally funded museum with control of NAGPRA-covered materials. The announcement notes that applicants with prior NAGPRA grants that ended without completion of major proposed work elements, or without meeting award conditions, may be penalized during review, signaling that performance history and follow-through matter in competitive evaluation. For organizations uncertain about whether they qualify, the opportunity directs applicants to contact the awarding agency using the contact information referenced in Section G of the full announcement.

Key administrative details included in the listing are that the original closing date was May 13, 2022, and the award ceiling was $15,000. Overall, the program functions as a practical support mechanism to help eligible tribal, Native Hawaiian, and museum applicants complete the physical and logistical steps that make repatriation happen, consistent with NAGPRA requirements and applicable federal regulations.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2022 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 2021-12-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-05-13. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

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