Manager, Repatriation Program

The Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) invites applications for the Manager of the Repatriation Program.

The Repatriation Program Manager will join a large and diverse department of anthropologists, collections professionals, archivists, and educators. The Anthropology collections include some three million archaeological and ethnographic objects, as well as the images, fieldnotes, and other media in the National Anthropological Archive. The museum maintains its anthropological collections and exhibits in order to cultivate understanding of and respect for cultures throughout the world, including those indigenous to the United States. The Repatriation Office was established in 1991 to implement the statutory requirements of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Act. Repatriation is a collaborative process in which Museum staff work with tribal representatives to determine the disposition of human remains and cultural objects under the law.  

The Repatriation Program Manager has responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the operation and administration of the program in repatriation of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony presently held in the collections of the Department of Anthropology. The manager supervises Repatriation Office staff, oversees the research and outreach efforts of the repatriation program, directs the inventory and documentation of remains and objects impacted by the legislation, and helps coordinate deaccession activities and the release of collections. The Program Manager also initiates discussions with Native American groups on matters of mutual concern and facilitates dialog between other Department of Anthropology and Museum staff. The manager bi-annually meets with and informs the external Native American Repatriation Review Committee on the progress of repatriation and responds to their inquiries.