Cal NAGPRA

Cal NAGPRA (Assembly Bill (978)) was an act created by the state of California which was signed into law in 2001. The act was created to implement the same repatriation expectations for state-funded institutions, museums, repositories, or collections as those federally supported through NAGPRA. Cal NAGPRA also supports non-federally recognized tribes within California that were exempt from legal rights to repatriation under the federal NAGPRA act.[1]

Limitation

Cal NAGPRA has had some limitations including insufficient enforcement and a limited scope of coverage. Increased education and outreach efforts, stronger enforcement mechanisms, and expanded coverage to include a broader range of institutions and collectors are all needed to improve the law.[1]

Cal NAGPRA offers the ability for tribes to repatriate ancestors and objects but there are over 500 federally recognized tribes within the United States who have different views on repatriation from one another. Tribes such as the California Chumash and Eastern Shoshone are not interested in the repatriation of remains. For the California Chumash this is because the bones were removed from their original burial areas they have also lost their cultural identity.[2]

Improvement

Cal NAGPRA was further amended in 2018 to include requirements for the University of California institutions to develop and implement a repatriation oversight committee that consults with the greater California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) to assess the U.C. systems compliance with NAGPRA and Cal NAGPRA.[1]

In 2020, state Bill AB 275 was passed and signed to strengthen Cal NAGPRA for non-federally recognized Native American tribes in California and increase the status of tribal traditional knowledge in assessing cultural affiliation and identifying cultural artifacts.[3]

Enhance Collaboration with California Indigenous People

Involving California Indigenous communities in the repatriation process and recognizing their knowledge and expertise in understanding their own cultural heritage is essential. Archaeologists and California Indigenous people can get a more thorough knowledge of the remains and foster cultural understanding and appreciation by working together in a respectful and collaborative manner.[4]

Ohlone tribe

The Ohlone, an Indigenous people of the San Francisco Bay area, were depopulated by Spanish colonial oppression and have been defined as extinct. The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, an unrecognized organization for Ohlone descendants, has sought federal recognition as a Native American tribe. The introduction of Cal NAGPRA prompted interaction between the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and archaeologists, and Muwekma Ohlone Tribe members reconnected with the culture and spirit of their ancestors through their participation in archaeological research as well as repatriated remains.[5]

Chumash Tribe

The California Chumash tribe has worked alongside archaeologists, such as Philip Walker with UC Santa Barbara, for three decades to accomplish the repatriation of many of their ancestors' remains. The remains are stored according to Chumash customs and buried on native Chumash land. The Chumash have also come to an agreement with scientists that they may use the remains for study under tribal-approved scientific circumstances.[6]

References
  1. Orona, Brittani R; Esquivido, Vanessa D (2020-10-07). "Continued Disembodiment: NAGPRA, CAL NAGPRA, and Recognition". Humboldt Journal of Social Relations. 1 (42): 50–68. doi:10.55671/0160-4341.1132. ISSN 0160-4341.
  2. Gulliford, Andrew (1996-10-01). "Bones of Contention: The Repatriation of Native American Human Remains". The Public Historian. 18 (4): 119–143. doi:10.2307/3379790. ISSN 0272-3433.
  3. "Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation in California State Parks". CA State Parks. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  4. FFORDE, CRESSIDA, "Collection, repatriation and identity", THE DEAD AND THEIR POSSESSIONS, Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis, retrieved 2023-05-16
  5. Time Has Many Voices: The Excavation of a Muwekma Ohlone Village | Time Has Many Voices: The Excavation of a Muwekma Ohlone Vil | PBS, retrieved 2023-05-16
  6. Kim, Jieun; Steadman, Dawnie W. (2014). "A Review of Codes of Ethics in the United States and Ethical Dilemmas Surrounding the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)". Korean Journal of Physical Anthropology. 27 (2): 47. doi:10.11637/kjpa.2014.27.2.47. ISSN 1225-150X.
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