NPS-FY21-WASO-NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants | P21AS00209

Opportunity Information: Apply for P21AS00209

The NPS-FY21-WASO-NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P21AS00209) is a discretionary grant program run by the National Park Service under CFDA 15.922. It funds projects that help carry out requirements of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) by supporting two closely related types of work: consultation and documentation. The overall purpose is practical and outcome-focused. Projects are expected to move collections and records toward clear decisions about control, appropriate treatment, and final disposition or repatriation of NAGPRA cultural items, rather than stopping at general research or planning.

Grant funds may be used only for consultation and documentation activities as defined by the program. Consultation projects are meant to support the government-to-government and organization-to-organization engagement that NAGPRA requires, especially work tied to compiling or revising a NAGPRA inventory and to making or responding to requests involving items listed in a NAGPRA summary. In practice, this can include structured meetings, outreach, coordination, and the labor needed to integrate consultation outcomes into updated inventories, summaries, and related decision-making. Documentation projects, on the other hand, focus on building the factual record needed to make NAGPRA determinations. This includes investigating the geographical origin of items, assessing cultural affiliation, and clarifying the circumstances of acquisition and custody for Native American cultural items. Both project types are meant to feed directly into determinations and actions under NAGPRA, not simply generate information for its own sake.

Eligibility is centered on the entities NAGPRA directly involves. Applicants may include any federally recognized Indian Tribe or Alaska Native village, as well as Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs). The opportunity reiterates that the Department of the Interior interprets the statutory definition of “Indian tribe” as covering more than 573 federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native villages, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs list serving as the reference point. For NHOs, eligibility is tied to serving and representing Native Hawaiian interests, having a primary purpose of providing services to Native Hawaiians, and having expertise in Native Hawaiian affairs; NAGPRA explicitly includes the Office of Hawaiian Affairs within this category.

Museums may also apply, but only if they meet specific NAGPRA-related conditions. In this context, “museum” is defined broadly and can include state or local government agencies, private institutions, and institutions of higher education, as long as the museum has received federal funds and has control of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony. To be eligible, museums generally must have completed and provided the required NAGPRA documentation to the National NAGPRA Program and to tribes or NHOs as appropriate: a NAGPRA Summary of cultural items (originally due November 16, 1993, or later per timelines in 43 CFR 10.13) and a NAGPRA Inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects (originally due November 16, 1995, or later per timelines in 43 CFR 10.13). A museum that has not yet completed a summary or inventory can still become eligible if it completes the missing documentation before submitting its grant proposal. However, museums found to be out of compliance with NAGPRA may be excluded from consideration.

Certain restrictions and review factors are emphasized. Federal agencies are not eligible to apply. Applicants that previously received a NAGPRA grant but did not satisfy grant agreement conditions, including required reports or deliverables, may be penalized during the review process. The announcement also directs applicants with questions to the points of contact listed in Section G of the full notice.

Key opportunity details provided include an original closing date of March 12, 2021, a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $90,000, and a creation date of November 30, 2020. The eligible applicant types listed in the source data are broad (including state and local governments, public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, and certain nonprofits), but the narrative eligibility requirements make clear that awards are specifically intended for tribes/Alaska Native villages/NHOs and museums with the relevant NAGPRA responsibilities and compliance status.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NPS-FY21-WASO-NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation 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 2020-11-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-12. (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.
• 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 having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for P21AS00209

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