National Museum of the American Indian Act

National Museum of the American Indian Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution a memorial to Native Americans to be known as the National Museum of the American Indian, to provide for the study and research of Native Americans and their culture and the collection and exhibition of Native American objects.

Authorizes the Smithsonian to provide for the transfer of certain assets of the Heye Foundation for the use of the Museum.

Establishes the Board of Trustees of the Museum which shall: (1) recommend annual budgets for the Museum; (2) assist the Board of Regents on matters relating to the Museum; and (3) report annually to the Regents on the acquisition, disposition, and display of Native American objects and artifacts and on other appropriate matters. Grants the Trustees sole authority to: (1) dispose of and acquire Museum property; and (2) specify criteria for appropriate use of Museum collections. Grants the Trustees authority to: (1) provide for the restoration, preservation, and maintenance of Museum collections; (2) solicit funds for the Museum; and (3) approve expenditures from the Museum's endowment.

Requires the Secretary of the Smithsonian to appoint a Director to manage the Museum and employees to serve under the Director.

Requires Foundation employees serving the day before the transfer to be offered employment by the Smithsonian.

Directs the Regents to plan, design, and construct a facility for the Museum in specified areas of the District of Columbia. Prohibits the Regents from paying more than two-thirds of the facility's total costs from appropriated funds with the remainder of such costs to be paid from non-Federal sources.

Authorizes the Administrator of the General Services Administration to lease space in the Old United States Custom House in New York City at a nominal charge to the Smithsonian for a period of not less than 99 years to house a portion of the Museum collections.

Authorizes the Administrator to reimburse the Federal Buildings Fund for the difference between the amount charged to the Smithsonian for leasing such space and the commercial charge which would otherwise apply to such space. Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator for FY 1991 and succeeding fiscal years to reimburse such Fund.

Directs the Regents to plan, design, and construct a facility in such space for the Museum to be known as the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian. Requires the Administrator to plan, design, and construct an auditorium and loading dock in the Custom House for the Museum and other occupants of that building. Makes the Regents responsible for repairs and alterations of the Center. Directs the Regents to: (1) reimburse the Administrator for the Smithsonian's share of service and repair costs with respect to such space; and (2) pay one-third of the Center's costs from appropriated funds with the remainder of such costs to be paid from non-Federal sources.

Requires payments by the city and State of New York for the establishment of the Center to be made to the Regents according to a payment schedule to be agreed upon by such parties.

Prohibits the obligation of Federal funds for construction of the Center in a fiscal year until non-Federal sources have paid the estimated share of such costs to the Regents.

Directs the Regents to plan, design, and construct a facility for the conservation and storage of Museum collections at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland.

Authorizes the Regents and the Administrator to enter into agreements for planning, designing, and constructing such facilities which require the Regents to transfer funds to the Administrator to cover the expenses of establishing such facilities.

Prohibits the obligation of funds appropriated for establishing such facilities for actual construction of any facility until 60 days after the Regents transmit to the Congress an analysis of the total estimated cost of such construction and a cost-sharing plan projecting Federal appropriations and non-Federal contributions for such construction on a fiscal year basis.

Requires the Administrator to make necessary repairs and alterations in the portion of the Custom House that is not leased to the Regents and which, on the enactment of this Act, has not been altered. Authorizes appropriations from the Federal Buildings Fund to the Administrator to make such repairs and alterations and to plan, design, and construct an auditorium and loading dock at the Custom House.

Directs the Regents: (1) to assure that, when a qualified successor to the Heye Foundation at Audubon Terrace takes possession of Audubon Terrace, a specified area at that facility is accessible to the public and physically suitable for exhibition activities; and (2) upon written agreement between the Regents and any qualified successor, to lend objects from Smithsonian collections to the successor for exhibition at Audubon Terrace and to provide training, scholarship, and other assistance for exhibition activities at Audubon Terrace. Requires any charge by the Regents for activities pursuant to such agreements to be determined according to the successor's ability to pay.

Directs the Regents to give priority to agreements with appropriate Indian organizations, including Indian tribes, when entering into agreements with museums, educational institutions, and cultural organizations to: (1) loan Native American artifacts and objects from Smithsonian collections; (2) sponsor or coordinate traveling exhibitions of such items; or (3) provide training or technical assistance. Allows agreements with Indian organizations to provide that loans or services be furnished to such organizations at minimal or no cost.

Allows the Regents to establish programs to serve Indian tribes and communities and, in cooperation with educational institutions including tribally controlled community colleges, provide programs to enhance the opportunities for Indians in museum studies, management, and research.

Requires the Regents to establish an Indian Museum Management Fellowship program to provide stipend support to Indians for training in museum development and management.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 and each succeeding fiscal year for such Indian programs.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) inventory Indian human remains and funerary objects in the possession or control of the Smithsonian; and (2) identify the origins of such remains and objects using the best available scientific and historical documentation.

Provides that if the tribal origin of any such remains or objects is identified by a preponderance of the evidence, the Secretary shall so notify any affected Indian tribe at the earliest opportunity.

Provides that if any such remains are identified by a preponderance of the evidence as those of a particular individual or as those of an individual culturally affiliated with a particular Indian tribe, the Secretary, upon the request of the descendants of such individual or of the Indian tribe, shall expeditiously return such remains along with any associated funerary objects to the descendants or tribe.

Provides that if any Indian funerary object not associated with Indian human remains is identified by a preponderance of the evidence as having been removed from a specific burial site of an individual culturally affiliated with a particular Indian tribe, the Secretary, upon the request of the Indian tribe, shall expeditiously return such object to the tribe.

Provides that nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as: (1) limiting the authority of the Smithsonian to return or repatriate such remains or objects to Indian tribes or individuals; and (2) delaying actions on pending repatriation requests, denying or otherwise affecting access to the courts, or limiting any procedural or substantive rights which may otherwise be secured to such tribes or individuals.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 and succeeding fiscal years to inventory, identify, and return such remains and objects held by the Smithsonian.

Directs the Secretary to appoint a special committee to monitor and review the inventory, identification, and return of such remains and items within 120 days after the enactment of this Act.

Directs the committee to: (1) ensure fair and objective consideration and assessment of all relevant evidence with respect to the inventory and identification; (2) review any finding relating to the origin or the return of such remains or objects upon the request of any affected party or otherwise; (3) facilitate the resolution of any dispute that may arise between Indian tribes with respect to the return of such remains or objects; and (4) perform other related functions as assigned.

Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress upon concluding his work.

Terminates the committee 120 days after the Secretary submits such report.

Authorizes appropriations to the committee for FY 1991 and succeeding fiscal years.

Requires the Secretary to inventory and identify Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects in the possession of the Smithsonian and to enter into an agreement with appropriate Native Hawaiian organizations with expertise in Native Hawaiian affairs to provide for the return of such remains and objects. Directs the Secretary to apply the principles and procedures set forth for the inventory, identification, and return of Indian human remains and funerary objects and for the special committee to the Native Hawaiian human remains and funerary objects.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to Indian tribes to assist them in reaching and carrying out agreements for the return of Indian human remains and funerary objects. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1991 and succeeding fiscal years.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to Indian organizations for renovation and repair of museum and exhibit facilities to enable such organizations to exhibit objects and artifacts on loan from Smithsonian collections or from other sources.

Establishes within the U.S. Treasury the Tribal Museum Endowment Fund from which the Secretary is required to make such grants.

Authorizes the Secretary to accept non-Federal contributions for deposit in the Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to credit to the Fund the interest on, and the proceeds from, the sale and redemption of obligations held in the Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to invest any portion of the Fund in interest-bearing obligations of the United States.

Authorizes appropriations to the Fund for FY 1992 and succeeding fiscal years.

Requires the Secretary of the Interior to report to the Congress annually on the financial condition of the Fund.

Authorizes appropriations to the Regents to carry out this Act.