Enrichment · Cultural Studies

Public domain
is not the whole question.

A photograph, recording or object from a community carries more than one kind of right: copyright, federal law for Native American cultural items, the community’s own rules about what may be shown and the privacy of the people in it. Add each item and the use you plan. The checklist counts open concerns and says what to do before it goes on a wall or online.

Add an itemWhat you get

Your items

The worked example is made up: a 1924 postcard photograph of a dance, a 1974 family recording of a song and an 1890 beaded bag with no record of its origin. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · Cultural StudiesFree

What you finish with
A record per item: what it is, its community, year, planned use, four questions (NAGPRA, community restriction, copyright, identifiable people) and six steps. Counts open concerns and lists items by concerns; flags possible NAGPRA items, restricted material, unknown or doubtful copyright, people shown without consent and online or commercial use before the community is consulted.
Who it is for
Staff and volunteers at museums, archives, libraries and historical societies, teachers and students building exhibits or digital projects with cultural heritage material.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per item. Prints one item, every item in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Cultural Studies space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each item and how you plan to use it.
  2. Answer the four questions honestly, using Not sure when you are.
  3. Consult the community through its own cultural office.
  4. Record permission, attribution and any labels agreed.
  5. Hold anything flagged until the concerns are closed.

Add an item

Three kinds of rights

Three kinds of rights, all at onceLegalCopyright in the photo,text or recording.NAGPRA for NativeAmerican remains andcultural items.CulturalWhat the community saysmay be shown, and towhom.Protocols for sacred orceremonial material.PersonalConsent of people whoare shown or named.Their families, forpeople who have died.Three kinds of rights, all at onceLegalCopyright in the photo, text or recording.NAGPRA for Native American remains andcultural items.CulturalWhat the community says may be shown, and towhom.Protocols for sacred or ceremonial material.PersonalConsent of people who are shown or named.Their families, for people who have died.
An item can be in the public domain and still be something a community asks not to be shown.

NAGPRA

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act covers human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony held by federal agencies and museums that receive federal funds. Revised regulations in effect since January 2024 require consulting the tribes and getting their consent before exhibiting them.

Copyright and the public domain

In the United States, works published before 1931 are now in the public domain. Unpublished works, including many family photographs and recordings, follow other terms, often the life of the author plus 70 years. Sound recordings have their own schedule.

Sources

  1. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3001 to 3013, and regulations at 43 CFR part 10 (revised, effective January 12, 2024); National NAGPRA Program (nps.gov/nagpra).
  2. U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 15A, Duration of Copyright, and Circular 56, Copyright Registration for Sound Recordings (copyright.gov).
  3. Local Contexts. Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels (localcontexts.org).
  4. Society of American Archivists (2018). Protocols for Native American Archival Materials, endorsed statement (archivists.org).

The worked examples are made up. This checklist is for planning and is not legal advice; copyright, NAGPRA and privacy questions can be complex, and the community’s own guidance comes first. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.