PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Says there is no national museum just for the history and art of peoples indigenous to the Americas. The Smithsonian runs many Native American programs but none of its 19 museums focuses only on Native American history and art. The Heye Museum in New York holds more than 1,000,000 objects and a library of 40,000 volumes. It now uses 90,000 square feet but needs at least 400,000 square feet for exhibits, storage, and research. Bringing the Heye collection together with the Smithsonian’s Native American holdings would create a powerful national museum for exhibits and research. It would help Americans learn Native history and culture, provide space for scholarly meetings and performing arts, offer curatorial and learning opportunities for Native people, and make traveling exhibits possible. About 4,000 human remains were sent by the Army to the Smithsonian and about 14,000 more were later acquired; identifying where those remains came from is important to many tribes and Native communities. A special site on the National Mall is reserved and available for building the museum.

Title 20, §80q

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Congress finds that—

(1)there is no national museum devoted exclusively to the history and art of cultures indigenous to the Americas;

(2)although the Smithsonian Institution sponsors extensive Native American programs, none of its 19 museums, galleries, and major research facilities is devoted exclusively to Native American history and art;

(3)the Heye Museum in New York, New York, one of the largest Native American collections in the world, has more than 1,000,000 art objects and artifacts and a library of 40,000 volumes relating to the archaeology, ethnology, and history of Native American peoples;

(4)the Heye Museum is housed in facilities with a total area of 90,000 square feet, but requires a minimum of 400,000 square feet for exhibition, storage, and scholarly research;

(5)the bringing together of the Heye Museum collection and the Native American collection of the Smithsonian Institution would—

(A)create a national institution with unrivaled capability for exhibition and research;

(B)give all Americans the opportunity to learn of the cultural legacy, historic grandeur, and contemporary culture of Native Americans;

(C)provide facilities for scholarly meetings and the performing arts;

(D)make available curatorial and other learning opportunities for Indians; and

(E)make possible traveling exhibitions to communities throughout the Nation;

(6)by order of the Surgeon General of the Army, approximately 4,000 Indian human remains from battlefields and burial sites were sent to the Army Medical Museum and were later transferred to the Smithsonian Institution;

(7)through archaeological excavations, individual donations, and museum donations, the Smithsonian Institution has acquired approximately 14,000 additional Indian human remains;

(8)the human remains referred to in paragraphs (6) and (7) have long been a matter of concern for many Indian tribes, including Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities which are determined to provide an appropriate resting place for their ancestors;

(9)identification of the origins of such human remains is essential to addressing that concern; and

(10)an extraordinary site on the National Mall in the District of Columbia (U.S. Government Reservation No. 6) is reserved for the use of the Smithsonian Institution and is available for construction of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 2013 Amendment Pub. L. 113–70, § 1, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1208, provided that: “This Act [amending provisions set out as a note under section 80q–5 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Native American Veterans’ Memorial

Amendments

Act of 2013’.”

Short Title

of 1996 Amendment Pub. L. 104–278, § 1(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3355, provided that: “This Act [enacting section 80q–9a of this title and amending section 80q–3, 80q–9, and 80q–10 of this title] may be cited as the ‘National Museum of the American Indian Act

Amendments

of 1996’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 101–185, § 1, Nov. 28, 1989, 103 Stat. 1336, provided that: “This Act [enacting this subchapter] may be cited as the ‘National Museum of the American Indian Act’.”

§80q Findings

Summary

Title 20, §80q

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