NAGPRA CONSULTATION/DOCUMENTATION GRANTS FY2020 | P20AS00025

Opportunity Information: Apply for P20AS00025

The NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants FY2020 (Funding Opportunity Number P20AS00025) is a discretionary grant program offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, under CFDA 15.922. The program is designed to help eligible applicants carry out projects required or strongly connected to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). In practical terms, this funding supports the work needed to identify, research, consult about, and ultimately make decisions regarding Native American human remains and cultural items held by museums, universities, government agencies, or other repositories. The underlying purpose is to move collections and records toward clear outcomes about who has control, how items should be treated, and what their final disposition should be, including repatriation when appropriate.

The grant specifically funds two kinds of project activities: consultation and documentation. Consultation projects are meant to support meaningful engagement between institutions and Native American tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in ways that advance NAGPRA compliance. This can include efforts to compile or revise a NAGPRA inventory (for example, updating entries, correcting errors, or expanding information needed for determinations) and work related to NAGPRA summaries, such as making requests for items listed in a summary or responding to such requests. The intent is that consultation is not treated as a formality, but as a structured process that helps clarify cultural affiliation, strengthens decision-making, and supports timely resolution of NAGPRA responsibilities.

Documentation projects focus on building the factual record necessary to make NAGPRA determinations. This includes research aimed at determining the geographic origin of items, establishing or evaluating cultural affiliation, and clarifying basic circumstances about how the items were acquired. Documentation work may involve compiling archival and collections records, analyzing field notes and accession files, reviewing provenance histories, and synthesizing other evidence needed to support defensible NAGPRA conclusions. The program frames documentation as a practical step toward outcomes, not just information gathering; in other words, the research should be directed toward decisions about control, treatment, and disposition of NAGPRA cultural items.

Eligibility for the FY2020 competition is broad and includes 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 certain nonprofit entities, including nonprofits that do not have 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The opportunity listing also includes an "Others" category with additional eligibility clarification referenced in the full announcement. This range reflects the reality that NAGPRA-related collections and responsibilities can be held across many types of institutions and government entities, while also recognizing the central role of tribes in consultation and cultural affiliation determinations.

For FY2020, the grant had an application deadline of February 14, 2020, with submissions due by 11:59 PM Pacific Time. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) was $90,000, and the program anticipated making about 30 awards. The funding activity categories associated with the opportunity span arts/cultural affairs, education, humanities/cultural affairs, law and legal services, and other related areas, which aligns with the interdisciplinary nature of NAGPRA work, where historical research, collections management, legal compliance, and government-to-government consultation often overlap.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as targeted support for NAGPRA compliance actions that require time, staff capacity, travel and coordination for consultation, and careful documentation. Whether an applicant is updating inventories, responding to summary-related requests, or conducting provenance and affiliation research, the program emphasizes that funded projects should contribute to concrete progress on determining rightful control and ensuring appropriate treatment and disposition of NAGPRA cultural items.

• 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 CONSULTATION/DOCUMENTATION GRANTS FY2020" 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 Dec 19, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 14, 2020 APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY 1159 PM PACIFIC TIME. (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 $90,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 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 that do not have 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).

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