Sen. Dodd: Senate OKs Bills Helping Native Americans

SACRAMENTO – The California Senate has approved a pair of bills from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to advance two key issues related to Native Americans -- the return of tribal remains and other artifacts held in University of California collections and the ability of tribes to conduct cultural burns for wildfire prevention.

“Restoring dignity to generations of indigenous Californians by ensuring campuses return these remains and other possessions is absolutely critical,” Sen. Dodd said. “At the same time, we must enhance the ability of tribes to participate in wildfire prevention by using this time-tested technique. I thank my Senate colleagues for supporting these important proposals.” 

 Historically, University of California campuses have possessed hundreds of thousands of Native American artifacts unearthed across the state. 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 the fall showed compliance with repatriation laws by the University of California has been inconsistent.

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 was approved by the Senate Wednesday. It heads next to the Assembly.

Meanwhile, amid a rise in wildfires over the past decade, California has set a goal of thinning a million acres of state and federal forestland each year. Tribal governments, which have jurisdiction over hundreds of thousands of wooded acres, traditionally employ trained burn bosses to carry out their controlled burns. However, regulatory hurdles add costs and prevent tribes from completing the work as quickly as possible.

Under Sen. Dodd’s proposal, Senate Bill 310, the process for these tribal governments would be streamlined. SB 310 was approved by the full Senate Wednesday and heads next to the Assembly.

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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.