20 U.S.C. § 80q : US Code - Section 80Q: Findings

Search 20 U.S.C. § 80q : US Code - Section 80Q: Findings

The Congress finds that -
(1) there is no national museum devoted exclusively to the
history and art of cultures indigenous to the Americas;
(2) although the Smithsonian Institution sponsors extensive
Native American programs, none of its 19 museums, galleries, and
major research facilities is devoted exclusively to Native
American history and art;
(3) the Heye Museum in New York, New York, one of the largest
Native American collections in the world, has more than 1,000,000
art objects and artifacts and a library of 40,000 volumes
relating to the archaeology, ethnology, and history of Native
American peoples;
(4) the Heye Museum is housed in facilities with a total area
of 90,000 square feet, but requires a minimum of 400,000 square
feet for exhibition, storage, and scholarly research;
(5) the bringing together of the Heye Museum collection and the
Native American collection of the Smithsonian Institution would -

(A) create a national institution with unrivaled capability
for exhibition and research;
(B) give all Americans the opportunity to learn of the
cultural legacy, historic grandeur, and contemporary culture of
Native Americans;
(C) provide facilities for scholarly meetings and the
performing arts;
(D) make available curatorial and other learning
opportunities for Indians; and
(E) make possible traveling exhibitions to communities
throughout the Nation;
(6) by order of the Surgeon General of the Army, approximately
4,000 Indian human remains from battlefields and burial sites
were sent to the Army Medical Museum and were later transferred
to the Smithsonian Institution;
(7) through archaeological excavations, individual donations,
and museum donations, the Smithsonian Institution has acquired
approximately 14,000 additional Indian human remains;
(8) the human remains referred to in paragraphs (6) and (7)
have long been a matter of concern for many Indian tribes,
including Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities
which are determined to provide an appropriate resting place for
their ancestors;
(9) identification of the origins of such human remains is
essential to addressing that concern; and
(10) an extraordinary site on the National Mall in the District
of Columbia (U.S. Government Reservation No. 6) is reserved for
the use of the Smithsonian Institution and is available for
construction of the National Museum of the American Indian.