Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains (CUHR)

January 10, 2012

– Updated Committee Membership

Members of Advisory Committee

  • Toni Antonucci (chair), the Elizabeth M. Douvan Collegiate Professor of Psychology, research professor at the Institute for Social Research Survey Research Center and associate vice president for research
  • David Bloom, the Jack Lapides Professor of Urology and chair of the Department of Urology
  • Francis Blouin, professor of information and of history and director of the Bentley Historical Library
  • Sarah Buss, associate professor of philosophy
  • John Chamberlin, professor of public policy and of political science and director of the Center for Ethics in Public Life
  • Philip Deloria, the Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Collegiate Professor of History, the Richard Hudson Research Professor of History and professor of American Culture
  • Raymond De Vries, professor of bioethics/medical education and of obstetrics and gynecology and adjunct professor of sociology
  • Gregory Dowd, professor of history and American Culture and director, Program in Culture, LSA
  • Sharon Herbert, the John G. Pedley Collegiate Professor of Classical Archaeology and curator and director of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
  • William Johnson, chairman, Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA)
  • Robert Megginson, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of mathematics, and associate dean of undergraduate and graduate education, LSA
  • Steven Wright, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor of civil and environmental engineering
  • Ben Secunda, ex officio without vote, NAGPRA project manager, Office of the Vice President for Research
  • Joyce Marcus, ex officio with vote, curator and director, Museum of Anthropology, and professor of anthropology

Nov. 16, 2010 — Document posted: Response by Stephen R. Forrest, Vice President for Research, to the CUHR Committee Report and Recommendations: Institutional Policy Determinations, November 13, 2010

September 24, 2010 — Document posted: The Report and Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentified Human Remains under NAGPRA is released for community review and comment, as announced in this letter from Stephen Forrest, Vice President for Research, University of Michigan. Comments may be directed to VP Forrest by October 31, 2010.

May 14, 2010 — A new federal rule takes effect regulating the transfer of Native American human remains, providing an important opportunity for U-M to work with Native American communities.

April 21, 2010 — Document posted: University of Michigan Culturally Unidentified Native American Inventories Database, Future Applicability Supplement, 2.9 MB (submitted by the U-M to National NAGPRA office in Spring 2009, and not yet incorporated in the National NAGPRA database).

March 26, 2010 — The Office of the Vice President for Research has begun outlining a process for the transfer of Native American human remains in U-M possession to Indian tribes.

Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest said the most recent activities are in response to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s March 15 publication of a final rule clarifying how museums and other agencies — including the university — should handle Native American human remains that are under their control but for which no culturally affiliated Indian tribe has been identified.

“Now that the Department of the Interior has clarified the rule for transferring culturally unidentifiable human remains, it is important that the university reach out to tribal leaders and facilitate the transfer process,” Forrest said. The Office of the Vice President for Research will provide coordination for all transfer actions.

On Oct. 15, 2009, University of Michigan Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest announced at the Board of Regents meeting in Flintthe formation of a new advisory committee on culturally unidentifiable human remains (CUHR). The group will advise Forrest on issues related to requests U-M receives from Native American tribes for the transfer of CUHR and funerary objects from the Museum of Anthropology. The committee’s goal is to provide advice that is pro-active, respectful and responsive to all interested parties.

“I appreciate the willingness of these distinguished individuals, who represent a variety of academic backgrounds, to bring their broad experience and scholarly perspectives to this sensitive and complex issue,” Forrest said.

The group is called the Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains under NAGPRA. NAGPRA—the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act—provides a mandatory process for returning culturally affiliated human remains and associated funerary objects to individuals and groups that have standing under the law and have requested such return.

Members of Advisory Committee

  • Toni Antonucci (chair), the Elizabeth M. Douvan Collegiate Professor of Psychology, research professor at the Institute for Social Research Survey Research Center and associate vice president for research
  • David Bloom, the Jack Lapides Professor of Urology and chair of the Department of Urology
  • Francis Blouin, professor of information and of history and director of the Bentley Historical Library
  • Sarah Buss, associate professor of philosophy
  • John Chamberlin, professor of public policy and of political science and director of the Center for Ethics in Public Life
  • Alicia Davis, professor of law
  • Philip Deloria, the Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Collegiate Professor of History, the Richard Hudson Research Professor of History and professor of American Culture
  • Raymond De Vries, professor of bioethics/medical education and of obstetrics and gynecology and adjunct professor of sociology
  • Sharon Herbert, the John G. Pedley Collegiate Professor of Classical Archaeology and curator and director of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
  • Robert Megginson, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of mathematics, and associate dean of undergraduate and graduate education, LSA
  • Kiara Vigil, graduate student in Program in American Culture
  • Steven Wright, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor of civil and environmental engineering

Committee Meeting Agendas

ANNOUNCEMENTS & LINKS OF INTEREST