Another aspect of our protection of our cultural identity tends towards the federal laws that have been implemented in the past to help us protect our identity and to do what is right. There is a NAGPRA law that says that people aren’t supposed to be in the possession of human remains and that even goes into those agencies that receive federal funding or are federal agencies. For example, different museums that have Nez Perce things are supposed to notify the Nez Perce tribe so the Nez Perce tribe can evaluate the things that they have and a dialogue can commence from that point to figure out whether or not something should come back to the tribe because a lot of these things are important. They do have sacred significance and they are ceremonial and the Nez Perce tribe would like to decide whether or not something should come back so our children can inherit it and take care of it. Thus, remember who they are and basically be taught who they are.

Along the NAGPRA law lies the ARPA law and that is the Archeological Resource Protection Act, which says that it is illegal for people to take archeological artifacts from federal properties and use them for whatever purposes they would like. That is to protect the archeological resource but also the cultural resource that the Nez Perce see. When something has been lying on the ground for a long time that has archeological significance, but more importantly to the Nez Perce that has cultural significance, that has identity with it. It can be expressed to our children that this is not just a rock. This is a tool that is used in processing food so that you can survive in a distinct way. A way of processing food that is different from the way that Europeans process food or the way that Asian people process food. This is something that expresses who we are in this particular area. So it is really important that people realize there are laws to take care of these kinds of things and make sure that they maintain their proper place in the world. We feel that their proper place tends to be with the people that made them because it restores their cultural context. If anybody wants to learn about the Nez Perce they can come to our country and learn about why we do the things that we do. Why do we put plants on our beadwork? It symbolizes our relationship with plants to help us to survive in the world. So that is something that is really important that we take care of.