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               Office of the President

               TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE:

                                                   DISCUSSION ITEM

               For Meeting of September 26, 2018

               POLICIES AND PRACTICES REGARDING TREATMENT OF NATIVE AMERICAN
               REMAINS AND ARTIFACTS

                                                EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

               Six campuses currently house Native American human remains and cultural items: Berkeley,
               Davis, UCLA, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. The Berkeley campus houses one of
               the largest collections in the United States.

               This item provides information about the University’s management and treatment of human
               remains and cultural items subject to the federal and California Native American Graves
               Protection and Repatriation Acts (NAGPRA), including the legal landscape, historical tensions
               surrounding this issue, and the University’s plans to strengthen NAGPRA activities going
               forward.

                                                     BACKGROUND

               Legal Landscape

               In 1990, the federal government enacted the Native American Graves Protection and
               Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to transfer
               Native American human remains and cultural items—funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects
               of cultural patrimony—to lineal descendants and culturally-affiliated, federally-recognized
               Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.

               In 1991, the University of California issued a systemwide Policy and Procedures on Curation and
               Repatriation of Human Remains and Cultural Items (hereinafter referred to as the “UC Cultural
               Repatriation Policy”), which was last substantively revised in 2001. This policy addresses the
               treatment and disposition of human remains and cultural items that are in the University’s
               custody, including the repatriation of these items under applicable law, including NAGPRA. The
               UC Cultural Repatriation Policy states that it is the policy of the University to respect Native
               American and Native Hawaiian concerns regarding the treatment and disposition of Native
               American remains and cultural items. It explicitly requires campuses to consult with tribal
               authorities both in preparing inventories and in responding to repatriation requests. The UC
               Cultural Repatriation Policy also establishes a systemwide Advisory Group to: 1) review and
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