Tribal Historic Preservation Officer

A Tribal Historic Preservation Officer or THPO is an officer in U.S. federally recognized Native American tribes "to direct a program approved by the National Park Service and the THPO must have assumed some or all of the functions of State Historic Preservation Officers on Tribal lands."

Each THPO prepares a Tribal Historic Preservation Plan, which is used to "advise Federal agencies on the management of Tribal historic properties..."

The National Historic Preservation Act, Section 101(d)(2), created the NPS program for THPOs. To create a position, the tribe submits a historic preservation plan to the NPS.

THPOs works with museums to implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).