State audits of UC and CSU for decades-long failure to return Native American human remains and objects lead to continued oversight

SACRAMENTO—Exasperated and impatient California tribal leaders and lawmakers today listened to state university system leaders lay out the steps they are taking to meet the requirements of 1990 and 2001 federal and state laws to return Native American human remains and artifacts to the appropriate tribes. The hearing follows three scathing state audits of the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems since 2019.     

California’s state auditor has conducted three audits: a UC audit undertaken in 2019, a second UC review in 2021, and a CSU survey and report in 2022. The CSU audit revealed collections of more than 700,000, although not all campuses had undertaken required inventories. UC also held sizeable collections, particularly on the UC Berkeley campus, and auditors reported additional collections were found as campuses reviewed their inventories. Governmental institutions and museums are bound to return Native American human remains and artifacts by the 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and its 2001 California counterpart, CalNAGPRA. Return of the items and human remains is described as repatriation.

The hearing was conducted by the Select Committee on Native American Affairs chaired by Assemblymember James C. Ramos and Assemblymember Gregg Hart, chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

Ramos, who also chairs the California Native American Legislative Caucus said. “While I am pleased that at long last, the UC and CSU systems are beginning to establish policies to direct the return of our ancestors’ remains, both systems have significant work ahead of them to comply with their legal responsibilities. The legislature will continue to aggressively monitor compliance and take steps to ensure the UC and CSU systems pursue compliance on a considerably quicker pace.” He added that the remains and objects should not be treated as archeological or academic trophies because they are human remains of ancestors.                   

Redding Rancheria Chairman Jack Potter who spoke at a news briefing on the subject said, “If you want to study an Indian, I’m right here. It takes money to do a lot of things but it should just take your heart. You hear the heart of these people crying from these shelves (shelves where universities store remains in boxes).”

Ramos noted that his bill, AB 226 requires additional audits of the UC system, and it strongly urges UC to make annual reports to the legislature about its NAGPRA compliance. He also cited AB 389 that required the CSUs to undertake the recommendations proposed by the state auditor in their 2022 review of the system. Both measures were signed in 2023.

In addition to Potter, other tribal leaders testifying at the oversight hearing included Chair Lynn Valbuena, Chair, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Charles Martin from Morongo Band of Mission Indians; Leo Sisco, chair, Tachi Yokut Tribe; Councilmember Catalina Chacon, Pechanga Band of Indians; Lorelle Ross, vice chair emeritus, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and Tribal Governance and Indian Child Welfare Act consultant and Buffy McQuillen, tribal heritage preservation officer, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

UC and CSU witnesses included CSU Chancellor Mildred García; California State University, Chico President Steve Perez; UC Vice President for Research and Innovation Teresa Maldonado; UC  Executive Director of Research, Policy Analysis & Coordination Deborah Motton; UC System-wide Repatriation Coordinator Glenys Echavarri; UC Berkeley Chancellor Richard Lyons and UC Berkeley Director of Repatriation Alex Lucas.

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Assemblymember James C. Ramos proudly represents the 45th Assembly district that includes the Cities of Fontana, Highland, Mentone, Redlands, Rialto and San Bernardino. He is the first and only California Native American serving in the state’s legislature. Ramos chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #6 on Public Safety.