NAGPRA & Repatriation Consulting for Museums. Moving ancestors from held to home.
We specialize in restoring Indigenous ancestors and cultural belongings to their tribal homelands. We represent the process of restorative justice — not the interests of holding institutions, but the mandate that ancestors belong with their people.
Get started with a readiness assessment. Both worksheets include a complimentary 20-minute debrief.
NAGPRA Readiness Worksheet
Building human systems for ongoing tribal consultation, policy alignment, and repatriation readiness.
Download NAGPRA Readiness WorksheetProvenance, Partnership & Interpretive Renewal
Supporting provenance research, cross-border consultation, and culturally grounded interpretive renewal.
Download International Repatriation Primer"We do not represent the interests of the holding institutions; rather, we represent the process of restorative justice."
Our core philosophy is Restoration Over Retention — we specialize in moving ancestors and belongings from Reported to Returned, navigating the 2024 NAGPRA Final Rule and international frameworks including UNDRIP and the STOP Act.
What We Do
Where stewardship meets diplomacy.
We translate expertise into NAGPRA Scaffolding, Ethical Storytelling, and Relationship Repair — held together by a framework of care, precision, and relational accountability.
Pillar 01
NAGPRA Scaffolding & Repatriation Readiness
Building human systems for ongoing tribal consultation, policy alignment, and NAGPRA compliance. We translate regulatory complexity into sustainable, relationship-centered practice.
Pillar 02
Ethical Storytelling & Interpretive Strategy
Rewriting labels, reframing exhibitions, and developing interpretive frameworks that honor the communities whose stories museums hold. Locally relevant and internationally applicable.
Pillar 03
Community Accountability & Partnership
Relationship scaffolding, community review processes, and Indigenous engagement protocols — whether navigating Pacific Northwest tribal consultation or cross-border partnerships in Europe and Scandinavia.
Pillar 04
Trauma-Informed Capacity Building
Workshops, staff training, and leadership coaching that center emotional safety and agency. Equipping teams to tell difficult stories with integrity, care, and institutional resilience.
Who We Serve
Supporting vibrant Indigenous communities leading their own cultural work.
NAGPRA Institutions — Supporting Indigenous Cultural Leadership
We help Tribal cultural centers and museums navigate NAGPRA compliance, build sustainable consultation relationships, and develop interpretive practice that amplifies Indigenous leadership and sovereignty. Repatriation is not about what institutions lose—it's about supporting vibrant, living communities reclaiming their cultural narratives, ancestral knowledge, and self-determination.
- Small to mid-sized museums stewarding Indigenous collections
- Tribal museums and heritage organizations
- Cultural centers navigating repatriation readiness
- Arts nonprofits in transition or seeking community alignment
- Universities with ethnographic and/or archaeological collections
International Museums — Decolonizing Collections & Centering Indigenous Voices
We support European, Scandinavian, and French institutions holding Pacific Northwest Coast collections in provenance research, reinterpretation, and authentic partnership with originating communities. The cultures represented in colonial collections are thriving—our work connects you with vibrant Indigenous nations leading cultural sovereignty, food systems knowledge, and land stewardship today.
- Norwegian museums — Sámi sovereignty and Northwest Coast collections
- Swedish institutions — Sámi partnerships and repatriation conversations
- Danish museums — Greenlandic, Inuit, and Indigenous holdings
- UK institutions — repatriation debates and colonial-era collections
- German and Dutch museums — provenance research and restitution
Services
What museum consulting engagement looks like
Our expertise spans national and international contexts. We tailor scope, timeline, and deliverables to your institution's context and stage of readiness.
Ethical Storytelling & Interpretive Strategy
Rewriting labels, reframing exhibitions, developing interpretive frameworks grounded in community accountability.
Community Accountability & Partnership Building
Relationship scaffolding, consultation protocols, and community review processes.
Repatriation Readiness & Cultural Responsibility
Internal alignment, policy review, collections stewardship assessment.
Trauma-Informed Facilitation & Capacity Building
Workshops, staff training, leadership coaching centered on emotional safety and institutional resilience.
Strategic Planning & Organizational Development
Visioning retreats, mission/values alignment, scenario planning, and grantwriting support.
Fractional Cultural Accountability
Retainer-based senior oversight for organizations needing ongoing guidance without a full-time role.
Ethical Storytelling Snapshot
Begin with clarity. Move with care.
A reflective tool for museums stewarding Indigenous and culturally sensitive collections. Five domains, trauma-informed, low-stakes — available in two context-specific overlays.
The Snapshot explores five core domains of ethical storytelling. Each includes a readiness scale, reflection prompt, and a micro-action you can take this week.
How intentionally your institution stewards cultural narratives, especially those connected to marginalized or Indigenous communities.
Emerging to Developing to Aligned
How clearly you communicate the choices, limitations, and values behind your interpretive decisions.
Emerging to Developing to Aligned
How well your interpretive practices support emotional safety, consent, and agency for both audiences and staff.
Emerging to Developing to Aligned
How your institution builds and honors relationships with the communities whose stories you share.
Emerging to Developing to Aligned
How well your internal structures and workflows support ethical storytelling across roles and planning cycles.
Emerging to Developing to Aligned
Download the Readiness Worksheets
Choose the worksheet that matches your institution. Both assess how you're doing across five key areas, with concrete next steps for each one.
For U.S. institutions navigating tribal consultation and repatriation International Repatriation Primer
For European and global institutions beginning provenance research
Already downloaded? Book your debrief directly:
Book 20-Minute DebriefOur Approach
How our tribal consultation process works
Every engagement begins with listening. We bring 50+ years of interpretive practice and deep expertise in tribal consultation — and we move at the pace that serves Indigenous communities and institutions. Our goal is to support institutions in becoming genuine partners in Indigenous cultural leadership, not gatekeepers.
Begin with the Snapshot
The Ethical Storytelling Readiness Snapshot is a low-stakes diagnostic across five domains. It's designed to surface what's already working and name where support would help — without pressure or pretense.
A 20-minute debrief
We offer a complimentary conversation to discuss your results. No sales pitch — just a chance to understand your institution's context and whether our work is a genuine fit.
A tailored proposal
If there's alignment, we develop a scope of work specific to your institution, community relationships, and stage of readiness — not a packaged service off a shelf.
Long-term partnership
Our most meaningful work unfolds over time. Relationships with tribal nations, repatriation conversations, and interpretive transformation aren't one-time projects — and we're built for the long arc.
Resources
NAGPRA resources and repatriation tools
Free resources designed for institutions at any stage of the journey — from initial curiosity to active repatriation work.
NAGPRA Scaffolding Checklist
A practical one-pager for institutions navigating NAGPRA compliance. Covers consultation systems, documentation, and tribal relationship readiness.
Download One-PagerInternational Repatriation Primer
An accessible overview for European and Scandinavian institutions beginning provenance research or repatriation conversations with originating communities.
Download One-PagerEthical Storytelling Readiness Snapshot + Worksheet
The full five-domain readiness rubric with team reflection prompts — available with NAGPRA or International overlay. Includes a fillable worksheet for individual or small-team use.
Regional Focus: West Coast
West Coast institutions face specific obligations under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, while navigating evolving relationships with Pacific Northwest tribal nations. Our West Coast resources focus on building the human systems — consultation protocols, documentation, internal capacity — that make compliance not just possible but meaningful.
Regional Focus: International Collections
Museums across Europe, Scandinavia, and the UK hold significant collections acquired during colonial periods — and are increasingly called to account for their stewardship. Our international resources support institutions at every stage: from initial provenance research to active repatriation conversations to long-term partnership building with tribal and Indigenous communities.
About Parman & Carnes
Guiding museums toward responsible futures.
"In the current landscape, our work is driven by the mandate that ancestors belong with their people, not in museum boxes. We implement Servant Leadership models that prioritize Tribal protocols over institutional convenience."— Parman & Carnes Consulting
Parman & Carnes Consulting supports museums and cultural institutions in building ethical, accountable, and culturally grounded relationships with the Tribal Nations of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Through trauma-informed practice, diplomatic clarity, and deep respect for community sovereignty, we help organizations move beyond compliance toward genuine, sustained partnership.
Alice Parman, PhD
Alice has spent 50+ years in and around museums, starting as the first woman department head at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. After serving as director of two regional museums, she became an interpretive planner and writer — first with a nationally recognized exhibit design firm, and later as an independent consultant.
Alice holds a PhD from the University of Chicago. Her academic background in education and narrative structure has been a cornerstone of her career in museums. It deeply informs her interpretive planning approach: developing a cohesive and engaging storyline and exhibit layout, grounded in the consent and expertise of those represented.
Rachael Carnes
Rachael is a creative strategist and curator of experiences for people of all ages and abilities, with deep expertise in cultural programming, artist engagement, and partnership development. After founding a nationally recognized arts nonprofit and serving as director for community-based equity initiatives, she spent years as an Associate Director facilitating collaborations between tribal representatives, federal agencies, and museums.
An award-winning playwright and educator, Rachael currently teaches at Willamette University, where she fosters storytelling and inclusive creative expression. She joins this partnership with her mother, Alice, to bridge strategy and execution — crafting immersive experiences that honor diverse traditions.
Our Values
Cultural Diplomacy
Navigating complex histories and relationships with care and precision — translating across cultures, geographies, and institutional norms.
Ethical Stewardship
Guiding museums toward practices that honor sovereignty, community governance, and long-term accountability — not as compliance, but as character.
Trauma-Informed Practice
Centering emotional safety, agency, and clarity — for the communities we serve and the staff we support through difficult work.
International Partnership
Creating sustainable, respectful collaboration across the Pacific, Atlantic, and the communities connected by the objects museums hold.
Selected Interpretive Projects
Five decades of museum experience
Alice and Rachael's combined body of work spans tribal cultural centers, national landmarks, natural history museums, and community heritage organizations. Projects are organized by region.
Professional Networks & Presentations
Contact
Let's build something meaningful together
We welcome conversations with institutions at any stage of reflection or transformation. No minimum readiness required.
Let's talk
Fill out the form and let us know what you're working with. We'll be in touch to schedule a time to discuss your institution's readiness and how we can help.
Service Area
National (United States)
International (France · Norway · Sweden · Denmark · UK · Netherlands · Germany)
Approach
This is a clean, humane, trauma-informed process that feels like care, not pressure. We work at your pace and your institution's stage of readiness.
Hero photo: Bryce Buchanan / Oregon Department of Transportation, CC BY 2.0.