California’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Tuesday that require the state’s public universities to adhere to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 (the Repatriation Act). The Act necessitates that state-funded agencies provide a process for identifying and repatriating Native American remains and cultural items to the appropriate tribes.
The first of these bills, AB 226, encourages the University of California to annually report its progress in fulfilling the requirements of the Repatriation Act. The bill also recommends that the university president allocate funding for these efforts, and it argues against the use of Native American human remains or cultural items for teaching and research purposes.
Assemblyman James Ramos, the author of both signed bills, highlighted two audit reports that showed minimal progress made by the university in meeting its Repatriation Act obligations. According to Ramos:
“It is painfully disturbing that the UC campuses have failed to return the remains of our ancestors after 28 years. UC’s disrespectful and ongoing delays have prevented California’s tribes from fulfilling their sacred duty to rebury our ancestors. After almost 30 years, it is long past time for UC to meet this obligation.”
The Governor also signed AB 389, a bill that mandates that the California State University comply with its several duties stipulated by the Repatriation Act. In the same vein as AB 226, AB 389 prohibits the use of Native American remains or cultural items for teaching and research. This comes on the heels of a 2023 report revealing the university’s possession of almost 700,000 such items and remains, in spite of having a duty to return them. Regarding this bill, Ramos said:
“AB 389 will ensure that decades after a federal and state requirement to repatriate the remains of our ancestors, CSU takes this responsibility seriously. These bones are the remains of our ancestors and deserve respectful reburial. It is a fundamental human right to be buried according to the customs of one’s people. I know of no other group denied this right.”
The California 2001 Repatriation Act was passed over a decade after a similar federal law was passed. This federal law of 1990 applies to federal agencies and museums that have received federal funding. You can review this law, here.
The full report on these legislative developments can be found on the JURIST website, here.