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University of California, Davis
NAGPRA Compliance Report

September 10, 2018

The UC systemwide policy and NAGPRA law provides discretion to the campuses on a number of key
issues. UC Davis campus policy addresses many of these issues including research access, transfer of
culturally unidentifiable associated funerary objects, claims by non-federally recognized tribes, and
dispute resolution processes.

UC Davis received feedback from many tribes regarding their concern about research access to human
remains and cultural items. The UC Davis policy now requires researchers requesting access to Native
American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to seek
input from relevant tribes. Human remains and cultural items that are culturally affiliated or pending
repatriation or disposition require explicit written permission from relevant tribes.
The return of culturally unidentifiable associated funerary objects is not mandated by NAGPRA,
however, by policy UC Davis offers these materials to claimant tribes, subject to approval of the Office of
the President. While the campus has very few Inventories associated with non-federally recognized
tribes, the new campus policy provides an opportunity for non-federally recognized tribes to engage in
the NAGPRA process. In absence of requests from federally recognized tribes, requests from non-
federally recognized tribes are generally recommended for disposition.
Federal Agency Collections

In addition to human remains and cultural items under UC control, UC Davis holds human remains and
cultural items under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Fish
and Wildlife Service. Federal agencies are responsible for NAGPRA compliance and all decision making
for these collections. UC Davis facilitates this process when requested.

Research

In the last ten years, the UC Davis Department of Anthropology Museum has provided research access
to human remains and funerary objects through six separate research loans. Five loans included human
remains, while one loan included associated funerary objects. All of the loans included analytical
sampling that is destructive in nature. Broadly, these studies include radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA,
stable isotope analysis, and analysis of dental calculus (plaque). The most comprehensive research
project was a broad survey on the evolution of diet, health, mobility, violence, and genetic makeup in
California. This loan was a multi-year project and included human remains from 22 different sites. The
majority of the results have been described in peer reviewed articles, or papers presented at academic
conferences. Research was primarily conducted by UC Davis faculty and their graduate students,
however, one research loan was made directly with a Native American tribe. The above research loans
were all initiated prior to the promulgation of UC Davis’s current policy, which requires tribal
consultation.

In addition, some Native American tribes have actively partnered with UC Davis faculty when
researching human remains not under UC Davis’s control. One federally recognized tribe recently
brought human remains repatriated from another University to UC Davis for analysis to better
understand the life histories of these individuals prior to reburial. In these cases, tribal representatives
and faculty work closely together in developing a research plan and interpreting results. In addition,
tribal representatives routinely co-author articles with UC Davis faculty conducting analysis.