Through the generosity of a grant provided by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, the National Trust has released the publication, Preserving Native American Places: A Guide to Federal Laws and Policies that Help Protect Cultural Resources and Sacred Sites. Written in layperson’s terms, Preserving Native American Places gives examples of laws that communities everywhere can use to protect their history, culture, and places that they value. Illustrations of successes—and failures—help show how these laws work in a practical real-world way.

Using a “Question and Answer” format, Preserving Native American Places is organized in four parts with representative illustrations, with a special focus on tribal participation. Part 1 focuses on the National Historic Preservation Act and other laws that require federal agencies to address the effects of government actions that could harm Native American historic sites, including traditional cultural properties. Part 2 explores the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the National Museum of the American Indian Act. Part 3 discusses protections available under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the Antiquities Act of 1906, and other permitting and enforcement laws. And finally, Part 4 highlights the role of the United States Constitution in protecting religious freedoms and federal statutes that could augment that protection.