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ACADEMIC AND STUDENT -4- A3
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
September 27, 2018

cases where a repatriation request has been received and repatriation is pending, unless permitted
by the tribal authority that has been determined to have jurisdiction over the remains and items,
subject to exceptions provided by federal law.

Disagreements have also surfaced over the handling and storage of remains and cultural items.
The process of identifying human remains and cultural items and establishing affiliations
involves careful examination and documentation of collections, in-depth research, and
consultation with multiple potentially affiliated tribes. The process is time consuming for all
parties. Normally, the remains need to be handled to some degree in order to properly identify
and separate human bones from fauna; this process can be very disturbing to Native Americans
and others. Even with consultation, there is not always agreement on the process, and, at times,
some tribes would prefer that the remains not be handled at all.

It is important to note that there are good examples of UC relationships with Native American
tribes having gone well. At UC Santa Barbara, for example, the campus entered into an
agreement with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to establish an ossuary to securely and
respectfully hold ancestral remains and associated burial objects. This agreement allows the
Band to conduct religious rites and ceremonies to honor their ancestors, and, with prior tribal
approval, it also allows students and scholars to study the Chumash remains and cultural items to
gain a deeper understanding of the history and accomplishments of the Chumash people.
Similarly in 2016, UCLA assisted with the burial of 2,000 remains associated with the
Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe, by offering to allow the tribe to bury the remains on UCLA property.

Efforts to Strengthen the University’s NAGPRA Activities

In 2017, UC Berkeley received feedback from a forum it convened consisting of individuals
from many tribal communities around the region and members of the Berkeley academic
community. As a result, the campus implemented various changes to improve relations with
tribes and Native American individuals on campus, including revamping its NAGPRA
committee to: 1) reflect a wider range of academic perspectives and more diverse cultural and
professional backgrounds; 2) stagger terms to routinely allow for fresh perspectives as well as
more predictable turnover; and 3) disallow research unit directors with a direct stake in decisions
from serving as the campus NAGPRA official (i.e., the person who makes the final
recommendations and determinations that go forward to the UC Office of the President for
review). In addition, in order to consider suggested policy and procedural changes and make
recommendations, the campus also appointed a Native American Museum and Library
Stakeholder Outreach Working Group, comprised of a variety of stakeholders, including faculty,
staff, and members of Native American descendant communities. The UC Berkeley campus
Hearst Museum also now allows tribes to request certain treatment of physical objects and
human remains in accordance with tribal traditions; the Museum has consistently been able to
comply with these requests.

At UC Davis, the campus administration initiated an active dialogue about its NAGPRA
compliance efforts in 2010 in response to concerns raised by local tribal communities and
students. In 2011, a campus NAGPRA Advisory Committee was appointed to provide