Traditional Cultural Properties
According to the National Register Bulletin Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties “Buildings, structures, and sites; groups of buildings, structures or sites forming historic districts; landscapes; and individual objects are all included in the Register if they meet the criteria. Such properties reflect many kinds of significance in architecture, history, archeology, engineering, and culture.
There are over a thousand definitions of the word "culture;" but in the National Register criteria the word is understood to mean the traditions, beliefs, practices, life ways, arts, crafts, and social institutions of any community, be it an Indian tribe, a local ethnic group, or the people of the nation as a whole”. The bulletin is located at: www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins /nrb38 /nrb38.
The significance of a historic traditional cultural property results from the role the property plays in a community's culture. A few examples of traditional cultural properties would be, as defined within the bulletin, would include the following:
Criteria for Evaluation
As an example, the Black Hills of South Dakota are a culturally significant area to the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. The Black Hills were, and continue to be, used by the Lakota, as a place of habitation, for hunting, and for ceremonial purposes. The Black Hills are an example of a general area that is a TCP. However, there are many smaller and lesser-known traditional cultural properties that have not been documented and need to be identified.
The National Register Bulletin 38 provides an in-depth discussion on Traditional Cultural Properties, as well as a breakdown of criteria for inclusion in the National Register. The following list was taken from page five of the bulletin, “Traditional Cultural Properties on the San Juan National Forest and Adjacent Public Lands”:
Human Remains and Burials
There is no issue more sensitive than burials and human remains. All graves are considered to be Traditional Cultural Properties. It is not appropriate to discuss in a written document some aspects of traditional burial practices. Below is a list of historically rooted beliefs, customs, and practices regarding burials and human remains.
Part of the sensitivity about human remains derives from a traditional belief that a person’s has more than one spirit and that one or more of these spirits remains with the body. When a burial is improperly disturbed this spirit can have ill effects on the person disturbing the burial, on his/her family, or on the whole community. Grave disturbance includes taking of artifacts.
Because of the presence of a potentially harmful spirit most tribal members will avoid exposed human remains. The belief that human remains should not be disturbed cuts across religious boundaries. It is not only a traditional belief but is also one strongly held by Christian members of the tribe.
Graves of known individuals are cared for by family members or, in some cases, close friends. This care involves both cleaning the grave site, honoring ceremonies if the individual was a veteran, and the placement of offerings of food, water, and tobacco on the grave. Offerings including sage, small stones, tobacco, and coins are left by many people at the graves of well-known chiefs. Graves of unknown individuals are simply left alone.
According to the National Register Bulletin Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties “Buildings, structures, and sites; groups of buildings, structures or sites forming historic districts; landscapes; and individual objects are all included in the Register if they meet the criteria. Such properties reflect many kinds of significance in architecture, history, archeology, engineering, and culture.
There are over a thousand definitions of the word "culture;" but in the National Register criteria the word is understood to mean the traditions, beliefs, practices, life ways, arts, crafts, and social institutions of any community, be it an Indian tribe, a local ethnic group, or the people of the nation as a whole”. The bulletin is located at: www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins /nrb38 /nrb38.
The significance of a historic traditional cultural property results from the role the property plays in a community's culture. A few examples of traditional cultural properties would be, as defined within the bulletin, would include the following:
- a location associated with the traditional beliefs of a Native American group about its origins, its cultural history, or the nature of the world;
- a rural community whose organization, buildings and structures, or patterns of land use reflect the cultural traditions valued by its long-term residents;
- a location where Native American religious practitioners have historically gone, and are known or thought to go today, to perform ceremonial activities in accordance with traditional cultural rules of practice; and
- A location where a community has traditionally carried out economic, artistic or other cultural practices important in maintaining its historic identity.
Criteria for Evaluation
As an example, the Black Hills of South Dakota are a culturally significant area to the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. The Black Hills were, and continue to be, used by the Lakota, as a place of habitation, for hunting, and for ceremonial purposes. The Black Hills are an example of a general area that is a TCP. However, there are many smaller and lesser-known traditional cultural properties that have not been documented and need to be identified.
The National Register Bulletin 38 provides an in-depth discussion on Traditional Cultural Properties, as well as a breakdown of criteria for inclusion in the National Register. The following list was taken from page five of the bulletin, “Traditional Cultural Properties on the San Juan National Forest and Adjacent Public Lands”:
- A TCP is a permanent location; not an object or a moved item.
- A TCP is rooted in community history and important to maintaining cultural identity in the community.
- The integrity of the location remains--the landscape has not changed so significantly that the practice or belief no longer applies or makes sense.
Human Remains and Burials
There is no issue more sensitive than burials and human remains. All graves are considered to be Traditional Cultural Properties. It is not appropriate to discuss in a written document some aspects of traditional burial practices. Below is a list of historically rooted beliefs, customs, and practices regarding burials and human remains.
Part of the sensitivity about human remains derives from a traditional belief that a person’s has more than one spirit and that one or more of these spirits remains with the body. When a burial is improperly disturbed this spirit can have ill effects on the person disturbing the burial, on his/her family, or on the whole community. Grave disturbance includes taking of artifacts.
Because of the presence of a potentially harmful spirit most tribal members will avoid exposed human remains. The belief that human remains should not be disturbed cuts across religious boundaries. It is not only a traditional belief but is also one strongly held by Christian members of the tribe.
Graves of known individuals are cared for by family members or, in some cases, close friends. This care involves both cleaning the grave site, honoring ceremonies if the individual was a veteran, and the placement of offerings of food, water, and tobacco on the grave. Offerings including sage, small stones, tobacco, and coins are left by many people at the graves of well-known chiefs. Graves of unknown individuals are simply left alone.
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