NAGPRA at Berkeley

There have been numerous developments in the UC System and specifically at UC Berkeley in recent months. These include revisions to CalNAGPRA, an update to the UCOP Policy, and an audit, all of which resulted from tireless effort of tribes to correct shortcomings in our NAGPRA program.  In response to these changes, UC Berkeley has moved responsibility for NAGPRA to the Office of Government and Community Relations (GCR).  Chris Treadway, the Assistant Chancellor for Government and Community Relations, is the Chancellor’s Designee in accordance with the UCOP Policy.  Alex Lucas is the NAGPRA Program Manager and acts as the Repatriation Coordinator for the University.

For questions regarding the NAGPRA Program at UC Berkeley, please contact Alex Lucas.

NAGPRA claims and inquiries

Claims can be made by lineal descendants, tribal chairpersons, or authorized NAGPRA representatives of federally recognized tribes. Inquiries regarding the consultation or repatriation process can be directed to Alex Lucas, e-mail: nagpra-ucb@berkeley.edu.

NAGPRA Eligible Items on Campus

Anyone who is aware of potentially NAGPRA or CalNAGPRA eligible materials on UC Berkeley properties, or under the control of the university, should report them to Alex Lucas. Please include a brief description of the materials and their location. Items of interest include, but not be limited to, human remains, archaeological materials, and traditional Native American materials.

Cultural Care Request

To make a traditional care request for items held by the University, please contact the Repatriation Coordinator at nagpra-ucb@berkeley.edu.

Loans

Information about loans from the Hearst Museum of Anthropology can be found on the museum's Loan Policies, Procedures and Fees page.

Although the GCR has responsibility for NAGPRA, the vast majority of NAGPRA eligible holdings are found at the Phoebe A. Hearst of Museum of Anthropology. Visit the Phoebe A Hearst Museum of Anthropology website for more.

File a complaint

To file a complaint about the claims process, or an appeal on a claims decision, contact Assistant Chancellor for Government and Community Relations Chris Treadway, e-mail: ctreadway@berkeley.edu

What do I need to engage in the claim process with Berkeley?

We will endeavor to make this process as easy and burdenless as we can. We recognize tribes have many competing priorities, and consultations can be time-consuming. We will do our best to accommodate and work to your schedule, and will not consider breaks in contact as a loss of interest in claiming. 

Tribes and lineal descendants are invited to contact the campus NAGPRA department for information about both known and unknown holdings. To commence consultation and to protect the privacy of tribes, we will require a letter from the Chairperson or Tribal Council designating the NAGPRA contact for the tribe (this does not apply to lineal descent claims). Letters can be addressed to the University of California to apply to all 10 campuses.  

We recommend providing a list of search terms to assist our team in finding all individuals and items of potential interest to your tribe. Common search terms include:

  • Known locations: states, counties, trinomials (site numbers), lat-longs, formal or local names of sites
  • Names of people: prominent tribal elders and cultural practitioners (e.g. basket weavers); names of known anthropologists, archaeologists, collectors, donors, ethnographers, or historians.
  • Tribe name: changes, abbreviations, and misspellings of the tribe's name
  • Culturally specific search terms: names of the culture and language; tribe names for objects or known miscategorizations used by museums; a list of item types and materials considered to be specific to the tribe, to be objects of cultural patrimony, sacred, or related to funerary practices.

Note: We do not expect tribes to share secret-sacred information to demonstrate sacredness or validate cultural patrimony. Tribal knowledge is a vital part of developing your claim, we will work with you to find avenues for communicating evidence without disclosing private information. No documents or information will be submitted or shared without your consent. 

What information we will provide

The following forms of documentation (where available):

  • An inventory of holdings (list)
  • Accession records and associated correspondence
  • Site records and related archives
  • Digitized copies of any known texts relating to the site 
  • A shared google drive folder for us to collaborate on developing your claim

The Claim Process at Berkeley

  1. Request to consult on potential (or known) holdings currently under the care of UC Berkeley
    - Pr    ovide a letter of authorization from the Tribal Chair indicating the person permitted to represent the tribe’s interests for NAGPRA claims and/or cultural care requests. Note, you can address this to the whole University of California system (to apply for all 10 campuses), for all holdings.
    -  Initial meeting to discuss the tribe’s consultation aims
  2. Berkeley will assemble all known documentation and an inventory list of holdings matching your criteria
  3. Consultation
    - Berkeley will work with you to assemble a claim packet for review by the UC Berkeley Campus NAGPRA Implementation Committee, including a finalized inventory for the notice.
    -     Optional: Physical or virtual collection visit to view collections and objects of interest
  4. Cross-consultation outreach - Berkeley will work with you to identify other possible claimant tribes, and conduct outreach inviting other tribes to consult.
    - Consultation on the sites/holdings with other potentially affiliated tribes
  5. Review by the UC Berkeley Campus NAGPRA Implementation Committee. If the Committee identifies further consultation is required, we will resume consultation.
  6. Berkeley submits the Notice to NPS NAGPRA and NAHC CalNAGPRA delegates (where applicable) for approval and publication
  7. Mandatory notice limitations period: 30 days for the NAGPRA Federal Register (CalNAGPRA process to be confirmed)
  8. Transfer of Control and optional Held-In-Trust agreement, pending no counter-claims.
  9. Physical return planning, or coordination for continued storage at Berkeley until the tribe is ready for return.