Piqua Shawnee, along with the National Congress of American Indians, asks you to show your support for the
Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act of 2017
On
November 8
at 2:30
(EDT),
the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a legislative hearing
to receive testimony on the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony
(STOP) Act of 2017 (S. 1400). This legislation has
broad support from Indian Country and NCAI is asking Tribes to submit
their support for this legislation and become part of the hearing
record.
The
STOP Act would strengthen existing
federal statutes protecting Native American cultural heritage with an
emphasis on facilitating the return of protected items exported and
trafficked abroad. Specifically, the STOP Act increases penalties for
violations of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act (NAGPRA) and provides an explicit prohibition on exporting items
obtained in violation of NAGPRA, the Archaeological Resources
Protection Act (ARPA), or the Antiquities Act. The legislation does not
extend the reach of these three laws to tribal cultural heritage that
is not already protected, and thus it does not criminalize any
currently legal domestic activity. Instead, it increases the deterrent
effect of current law by imposing heightened penalties and provides
that traffickers may not export their contraband. Additionally, the
STOP Act creates a structure for federal facilitation of the voluntary
return of tribal cultural heritage and engages tribes through a working
group to provide input on implementation.
NCAI
has two resolutions which align with the intent of the STOP Act and
call upon the United States government to address international
repatriation and take affirmative actions to stop the theft and illegal
sale of tribal cultural items both domestically and abroad (SAC-12-008 and SD-15-075). You can find NCAI's
letter of support here.
The
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is holding a legislative hearing on
the STOP Act on Wednesday,
November 8,
2017.
There is strong bi-partisan support in Congress for the STOP Act but
opposition from some antiquities dealers and collectors, who are
mobilizing on the Hill, threatens the bill's progress. This hearing is
a critical opportunity for Indian Country to provide their positions on
the record about the importance of protecting tribal cultural
heritage.
We
are asking tribes and tribal organizations to support the STOP Act
before this important hearing. You can show support by:
- Sending a letter to Committee members expressing support for the bill, with your senators copied. You can find a template letter of support here. Testimony can be sent here. To ensure NCAI can track tribal support, please CC mgivens@ncai.org when you submit); and
- Calling or meeting with Committee staff and your senator, especially if he or she is a member of the Committee, expressing your support for the bill.
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Members
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.