New Book Discusses Reburial Laws and their Effects of Scientific Inquiry

San Jose, CA – According to Dr. Elizabeth Weiss, a professor of anthropology at San José State University, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) violates the First Amendment and negatively affects science. In her new book, Reburying the Past: the Effects of Repatriation and Reburial on Scientific Inquiry (ISBN-10: 1604567015; ISBN-13: 978-1604567014), Weiss describes how even though Federal courts have consistently upheld the First Amendment NAGPRA has become the exception and animism is incorporated into federal law. NAGPRA states federally funded institutions (such as universities) need to complete their inventories and other acts dealing with human remains “in consultation with … traditional religious leaders.” Review committees must consist of at least two “traditional Indian religious leaders,” and sacred and religious appear seventeen times in NAGPRA. Weiss also details the losses of data, funding, time, and scientific freedom that have occurred due to this break in the First Amendment. For example, in 2006, NAGPRA gave nearly 2.5 million dollars in grants to Native American tribes to assist in religious endeavors. By 2006, over 30,000 individuals and over half a million funerary objects have been repatriated to tribes. Additionally, Weiss’s book spells out how scientists are required to get permission from religious people, who are often vehemently anti-science, to study human remains to learn about the past, such as who were the first Americans.

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Reburying the Past: the Effects of Repatriation and Reburial on Scientific Inquiry can be ordered through amazon.com and other on-line book sellers or directly through Nova Science Publishers at https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=7348. (Use of the Promotional Code Leaf40 will provide readers with a 40% discount).

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Weiss at eweiss@email.sjsu.edu or 408-924-5546.