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Living peoples of many
ethnic and occupational backgrounds may have an association with
the land that pre-dates a park. Ceremonial sites, migration routes,
harvesting areas . . . all may be within park boundaries. While
integral to a group's identity, they may not be why the park was
established.
Nevertheless, by law, executive order, and agency
policy, the National Park Service must respect these peoples and
consider the effects of its actions, such as building a new road
or visitor center. When religious issues are evident, the Service
must also consider constraints imposed by the first and fourteenth
amendments.
Ethnographers assist in fulfilling these mandates
as interpreted by the NPS Management Policies. The policy on cultural
resource management and Native Americans commits management to
consult diverse peoples, conducting ethnographic research on the
values they attach to park resources. Although NPS shares this
research with the public, it withholds culturally sensitive information
as confidential, as explained in Negotiating
Ethical and Legal Mazes in the Federal Workplace.
The major laws driving these policies include:
The
National Environmental Policy Act (.pdf)
The
National Historic Preservation Act
Protection
of Historic and Cultural Properties (36 CFR Part 800)
The
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
The NPS Organic
Act
The American
Indian Religious Freedom Act (.pdf)
The Archaeological
Resources Protection Act (.pdf)
The Freedom of
Information Act
The executive orders behind NPS policies include:
Executive
Order 13007, Indian Sacred Sites
Executive
Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments
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