UC NAGPRA Policy

The following links are to the different laws and policies that UC Berkeley is required to adhere to.  This includes NAGPRA, CalNAGPRA and the UCOP Policy.

These links will also help shape and guide our NAGPRA Program as we move forward:

The Berkeley NAGPRA Program fully intends to adhere to the spirit or intention of NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA.  Therefore, we will interpret these laws and regulations in adherence with the Purpose and Guiding Principles found in III.B.1-9 of the UCOP Policy. We will also work with non-federal tribes in adherence with the Statement on Compliance with CalNAGPRA found in III.C of the UCOP Policy.  With that in mind, we are posting those sections below:

  1. Repatriation or Disposition of all Native American and Native Hawaiian Human Remains and Cultural Items is a fundamental objective and value of UC that must be accomplished as expeditiously and respectfully as possible. This policy is designed to govern how UC implements its responsibilities under NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA to improve the Repatriation process so that Human Remains and Cultural Items may be brought home to Tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations and Lineal Descendants.
  2. UC supports Executive Order N-15-19 of the State of California, and recognizes and commits to implementing the rights of Indigenous peoples articulated in Article 12 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as follows: “the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects; and the right to the Repatriation of their ancestral Human Remains.” UC also commits to providing access to and Repatriation of Native American or Native Hawaiian Human Remains and their Cultural Items “through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples.” UC acknowledges its role in the acquisition of Human Remains and Cultural Items that were obtained in violation of spiritual and cultural beliefs, without the free, prior and informed consent of Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations. UC further acknowledges that the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California NAGPRA (CalNAGPRA) were enacted to restore Native American and Native Hawaiian rights to Human Remains and Cultural Items.
  3. UC acknowledges that the injustices perpetrated on Native Hawaiians and Native Americans are reflected even to the present, and that as long as Human Remains and Cultural Items remain in the University’s control, healing and reparation will be incomplete.
  4. UC will comply with NAGPRA, CalNAGPRA, and this policy. This policy establishes uniform standards and practices that are binding across the UC system.
  5. This policy is intended to promote consistency and applies across the UC system, including at campuses, laboratories, medical centers and health systems, as well as satellite offices, affiliates, and other units controlled by the Regents of the University of California.  UC campuses must ensure compliance with this policy at all UC locations over which they have management responsibilities. Pursuant CalNAGPRA § 8025(a)(5), campuses need not develop additional local policies, but if they wish to do so, such local policies must be consistent with this policy and be in place within one year after release of this policy.
  6. UC is committed to ethical and respectful care and culturally appropriate treatment of Human Remains and Cultural Items while they are in UC’s Possession or Control. UC recognizes that culturally appropriate treatment must derive from Consultation with Lineal Descendants and Tribal Representatives.
  7. It is the policy of UC to achieve the Repatriation or Disposition of Human Remains and Cultural Items to Federally Recognized Tribes and non-Federally Recognized tribes in accordance with NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA.
  8. UC recognizes that Consultation with Native Americans and Native Hawaiians contributes a distinct and essential perspective and furthers UC’s teaching, research, and public service mission. UC fully supports the right of all Native American Tribes, including Federally Recognized Tribes and non-Federally Recognized tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations to visit their Human Remains and Cultural Items, and request and receive copies of all associated documentation, pursuant to NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA.
  9. This policy requires formation of a Systemwide Native American Repatriation Implementation and Oversight Committee (“Systemwide Committee”) to review campus compliance with this policy and to review appeals after campus procedures have been exhausted.

C. STATEMENT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CALNAGPRA:  UC is committed to complying with CalNAGPRA, which among other things, facilitates Repatriation and/or Disposition of California Indian Tribes’ Human Remains and Cultural Items to California Indian Tribes, defined in CalNAGPRA § 8012(j).10 UC campuses with Possession or Control of Native American Human Remains and/or Cultural Items are required to consult with California Indian Tribes and update their inventories and summaries as required by CalNAGPRA. This includes reviewing and revising or supplementing existing Inventories and Summaries for collections previously classified as Culturally Unidentifiable and consulting with California Indian Tribes as required by CalNAGPRA. Further, UC is required to transfer Human Remains and Cultural Items that are State Culturally Affiliated with California Indian Tribes as required by CalNAGPRA, consistent with NAGPRA.

UC Policy