Native American Cultural Resources: Improved Information Could Enhance Agencies' Efforts to Analyze and Respond to Risks of Theft and Damage
Fast Facts
Individuals have long sought to excavate and steal Native American pottery, tools, and other objects for their own collections or to sell.
We reviewed 7 federal agencies' efforts to protect these cultural resources and roadblocks they've encountered.
Officials cited impediments such as being unable to afford costly measures such as fences and physical surveillance. Also cited was a lack of information on the location and condition of archeological sites. We recommended the agencies work to obtain this information, which could help them better prioritize protection efforts.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Billboard in Arizona Providing Information for how to Report Theft or Damage at Archeological Sites
Highlights
What GAO Found
Seven federal agencies that GAO reviewed have taken a variety of approaches to help prevent and detect the theft and damage of Native American cultural resources on federal and Indian lands that may contain such resources. These agencies' approaches included conducting public awareness programs, installing physical protection measures (see photo), and monitoring sites with electronic surveillance equipment. For example, the Bureau of Land Management has partnered with a tribe to host an event in Colorado to remove graffiti and address vandalism on canyon walls and rock art and increase public awareness about the importance of protecting these and other Native American cultural resources.
A National Park Service Sign in Arizona Aims to Prevent Theft and Damage
Agency officials cited various factors hindering their efforts to prevent, investigate, and prosecute incidents of theft and damage to Native American cultural resources. These factors included resource constraints and limitations with data to support decision-making. For example, officials from all seven agencies said that funding and staff constraints limit their capacity to implement costly prevention measures, such as shore stabilization or physical surveillance. In addition, officials from four of the seven agencies said that not being able to readily access incident data hindered their ability to decide where to focus prevention measures. Officials from three agencies said that limited data on the location and condition of archeological sites hindered their ability to investigate incidents of theft and damage. To address risks in protecting Native American cultural resources, given constrained resources, agencies need sufficient information to support decisions and target efforts. Taking steps to obtain such information would provide agencies with a more informed basis for allocating resources to mitigate the greatest risks to Native American cultural resources. For example, agencies could identify ways to facilitate easier retrieval and analysis of the location and condition of Native American cultural resources to better align available resources with high-priority sites when considering where to implement protective measures.
Why GAO Did This Study
Federal laws prohibit the theft and damage of Native American cultural resources, such as pottery, tools, and sacred objects, on federal and Indian lands. Federal agencies help protect these resources by attempting to prevent theft and damage and by investigating and prosecuting such crimes. These agencies include the Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service; the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
GAO was asked to review these agencies' efforts. This report examines (1) approaches selected federal agencies have taken to prevent and detect theft and damage; and (2) factors that have hindered agencies' efforts to prevent, investigate, and prosecute incidents of theft and damage. GAO analyzed data from seven federal agencies, reviewed agency documents, and interviewed agency officials and representatives of Native American tribes.
Recommendations
GAO is making seven recommendations that each agency take steps to identify and obtain information to enhance their ability to analyze and respond to risks to Native American cultural resources. The agencies generally concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service to take steps to identify and obtain the information needed to target its efforts for analyzing and addressing risks to Native American cultural resources and share any promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist. (Recommendation 1) |
The Department of Agriculture provided information in October 2022 on the steps the Forest Service had taken to implement our recommendation. Among other things, the Forest Service updated its law enforcement information system with mandatory fields to track incidents specifically involving Native American cultural resources and enhance their ability to track where and when these incidents occur, and shared information of promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist regarding a case study on tribal co-management at Bears Ears National Monument to enhance the protection of cultural resources.
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| Department of Defense | The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works should direct the Chief of Engineers and the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take steps to identify and obtain the information needed to target its efforts for analyzing and addressing risks to Native American cultural resources and share any promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist. (Recommendation 2) |
In June 2021, the Army Corps provided us with information about steps it has taken to implement the recommendation, including updating its environmental stewardship database to identify Native American cultural resource sites, participating in prospective meetings with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist and other federal agencies, and updating database fields from current and past cultural resource surveys for the past 10 years to identify Native American sites.
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| Tennessee Valley Authority | The Chief Executive Officer of the TVA should take steps to identify and obtain the information it needs to take steps to identify and obtain the information needed to target its efforts for analyzing and addressing risks to Native American cultural resources and share any promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist. (Recommendation 3) |
TVA provided information in Sept. 2021 that it (1) has implemented a cultural resource management system to better track agency data on archeological resources, including Native American sites, (2) Is developing documentation to clarify roles and responsibilities and improve communication between TVA archeologists and TVA police, (3) Has taken steps to improve monitoring and documentation of damage at at-risk sites, (4) has begun monitoring efforts using quantitative metrics, and (5) has coordinated with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist at Interior to share promising practices.
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| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of BIA to take steps to identify and obtain the information needed to target its efforts for analyzing and addressing risks to Native American cultural resources and share any promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist. (Recommendation 4) |
In March 2023, BIA provided an extensive summary of the actions it has taken in response to this recommendation. Specifically, BIA increased its detection capabilities by creating a Cultural Crimes Unit staffed with three agents, establishing a 24-hour tip line and online crime reporting form, establishing regularly scheduled monitoring of sensitive or previously targeted sites, and monitoring 114 internet auction sites to identify possible violations, which has led to successful repatriations from auction houses. The agency also analyzed court documents from the District of Arizona's ARPA, NAGPRA, and misdemeanor archaeological resource crime cases from 2009-2022 and plans to expand the investigation to a nationwide survey and will share the results with its sister agencies. BIA also partnered with a non-profit DNA lab to test evidence from ARPA crime scenes. This enabled BIA to develop profiles of violators in more than 10 investigations and have shared that information with other agencies that conduct ARPA investigations, such as the National Park Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management.
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| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of BLM to take steps to identify and obtain the information needed to target its efforts for analyzing and addressing risks to Native American cultural resources and share any promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist. (Recommendation 5) |
In August 2022, BLM provided information on steps it has taken to address our recommendation, including establishing the protection of cultural and archeological sites and objects as a top law enforcement priority, allocating funding to support protection and enforcement activities. and updating its Investigative Case Management system to allow specific resources, such as Native American cultural resources, to be designated within an ARPA investigation. This will enable BLM to generate reports based on location data on all closed and adjudicated ARPA investigations, which they will share annually with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist.
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| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of FWS to take steps to identify and obtain the information needed to target its efforts for analyzing and addressing risks to Native American cultural resources and share any promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist. (Recommendation 6) |
In July 2022, FWS provided information on the steps it has taken to address our recommendation, including finalizing a process for assessing the condition of archaeological sites on FWS lands that includes Federal Wildlife Officers working with a trained archaeologist, enhancing existing training to focus attention on the protection of cultural resources, improving the tracking of the location and condition of archeological sites on FWS-managed lands, capturing incidents of disturbance to archeological sites in the FWS law enforcement information system, and sharing promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist.
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| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of the Park Service to take steps to identify and obtain the information needed to target its efforts for analyzing and addressing risks to Native American cultural resources and share any promising practices with the Departmental Consulting Archeologist. (Recommendation 7) |
In June 2023, NPS provided information about the actions it has taken to address this recommendation. Specifically, NPS has updated the Incident Management, Analysis, and Reporting System (IMARS) to add an indicator that an incident is ARPA or NAGPRA related. This system modification allows NPS to query for this type of incident and assess the frequency of this incident type over time. In addition, the NPS archeologist, who also serves as the Departmental Consulting Archeologist, solicited examples from the other agencies and bureaus covered in this report of management activities other than law enforcement actions that are effective in protecting Native American cultural resources and published a report in April 2023 summarizing the submissions. Finally, in June 2023, the NPS archeologist met with the IMARS program manager to discuss future plans and strategies for improving site protection in high-risk areas based on available law enforcement, cultural resource inventory, and geospatial data.
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