Sen. Dodd: Committee Approves Bill to Return Native American Remains

SACRAMENTO – Legislation advanced today from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would help speed the return of Native American remains and cultural items held in University of California collections by requiring campuses to allocate sufficient resources for repatriation efforts and by mandating reporting to ensure progress.

“My bill would help restore dignity to generations of indigenous Californians by ensuring campuses allocate the necessary funding to complete the repatriation process and by holding them accountable to get it done,” Sen. Dodd said. “Unfortunately, the university system has not always returned these items in a consistent and timely manner. With today’s committee’s approval, we are one step closer to addressing this injustice.”

Historically, University of California campuses have possessed hundreds of thousands of Native American artifacts unearthed across the state. Many Native Americans believe the spiritual journeys of their ancestors have been disrupted by the exhumation of their remains and hope to rebury them once they are returned. Government agencies and museums – including universities – are required to return the items under both the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and state’s version of the law, CalNAGPRA.

However, an audit released in November showed compliance with repatriation laws by the University of California has been inconsistent. Campuses at Berkeley, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara have not reviewed all Native American remains and cultural items in their possession, the audit said. Also, the Office of the President has provided neither the necessary guidance nor the funding for repatriation activities, the audit showed. Only UC Davis and UCLA have repatriated the majority of their Native American collections, the audit found.

Sen. Dodd’s legislation, Senate Bill 61, would implement the auditor’s recommendations to address university shortcomings, ensuring campuses have the resources to return remains and other items in a consistent and timely manner, and report on their progress. SB 61 passed the Senate education committee today with unanimous support.

“Tribes are committed to do right by our people, past present and future,” said Robert Smith, chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians since 1990. “We appreciate Sen. Dodd and the state Legislature pressing the University of California to do what’s right. It’s confounding it requires as state law to do that.”

“We have met our obligations to honorably lay our people to rest,” said Jesus Tarango, chairman of the Wilton Rancheria. “The UC campuses need to meet their obligation to return our ancestors and cultural items to their rightful resting places.”

###

Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.