Receive
Consider an incoming request and choose whether to record it. The local prototype can accept a proposal from an institution that does not use PAVA.
Nation-side development
NAAGU
From the Hidatsa verb náagu: to go home; to go back.
NAAGU explores independent tools for the source/Nation side of repatriation, for the Nations, communities, and descendants who receive requests: choosing what to record, reviewing requests, setting conditions, and preparing responses. Nations determine their own authorities and ways of working.
Development status · October 15, 2026A local prototype uses synthetic records to explore Nation-side workflows. NAAGU is not a deployed service and has not been approved by any Nation.
Interpret
Review what is being asked, which context matters, and which judgments should remain outside the record. The prototype models these choices with synthetic participants.
Govern
Set conditions for a response, then revise, supersede, or withdraw instructions as circumstances change. The development model does not establish real community authority.
Act
Prepare a response for ordinary channels and select what a successor needs to continue the work. A saved response cannot recall copies already shared.
Independent by design
Useful on a Nation’s own terms.
PAVA supports institutional records and review. NAAGU is independent source/Nation-side development. Its local prototype can prepare responses without requiring the institution to use PAVA; any exchange between the two is optional.
Read the architecture behind the workStart a conversation
Talk with us about NAAGU.
A development conversation can begin with an ordinary request: who receives it, what should stay outside a record, and what the next person needs to know. No sensitive records are needed to begin.