SACRAMENTO (CN) — More than half of the schools in the California State University system have not complied with federal regulations in the handling and return of Native American cultural items, including human remains, according to a state audit released Thursday.
Of the 21 campuses in the public university system that have federally protected collections of artifacts, 12 have not finished required reviews, and 16 have "little or no" system for the repatriation of remains or artifacts, the California State Auditor found.
The review assessed each of the university system's 23 campuses for compliance with the 1990 Native American Graves and Protection Act, which established protections for Native American gravesites and created a system where federally recognized tribes can request the return of human remains and cultural items from museums and government agencies. Its state counterpart, CalNAGPRA, allows tribes that do not have federal recognition to submit repatriation claims to agencies like the California State University system.
“This report concludes that although the [chancellor’s office] has taken some limited steps recently to support the campuses’ repatriation efforts, it must take additional action to ensure that campuses prioritize complying with NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA,” wrote Grant Parks, the California state auditor.
The majority of the 21 campuses with collections have not repatriated any remains or cultural items to tribes, auditors determined. Two that did return artifacts failed to follow federal requirements.
“More than half of these 21 campuses do not yet know the extent of their collections of remains and cultural items," Parks wrote, "despite federal law requiring them to do so by late 1999."
Auditors did on-site reviews at four universities: Chico State University, Sacramento State University, San Diego State University, and San José State University. They found that many schools did not have resources in place to adequately comply with the repatriation provisions of either law.
“In part because campuses have not prioritized NAGPRA, they generally lack the policies, funding, and staffing necessary to follow the law and repatriate their collections," Parks wrote. "Factors such as these have contributed to the CSU system making little progress in the timely return of human remains and cultural items to tribes, repatriating just 6 percent of its collections to tribes to date.”
The state has since 2020 required schools in the system to review all of their artifacts and human remains and consult with tribes before performing the review. All findings must then be reported to the Native American Heritage Commission.
Last year, a legislative committee asked the state auditor to look at the CSU system to monitor its compliance with both state and federal regulations.
The four campuses that were subjected to the on-site review lacked any comprehensive policy and did not incorporate best practices in collection management or repatriation efforts, according to the audit.
The chancellor's office has begun to plan for the return of items but lacks a system-wide committee to oversee the process. It's time to finalize those efforts, Parks wrote, recommending a December 2024 deadline to complete reviews of repatriation efforts.
“The chancellor’s office has not provided the guidance and oversight necessary for campuses to comply with NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA," Parks wrote. "For example, it has not issued a systemwide policy to provide guidance to campuses, nor has it ensured that campuses prioritize funding for their repatriation activity."
The audit also recommended that schools with more than 100 sets of remains or cultural items hire full-time experienced repatriation coordinators by by June 2024, and work with California tribes and the Native American Heritage Commission to develop statewide processes and training requirements.
California State University Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester said the system audit will push it toward better compliance with protections.
“The California State University deeply respects the sovereignty of Native American tribal communities and will honor their ancestors and sacred ways through a reverent return of ancestral remains and cultural items taken from them and housed on our universities for far too long," Koester said in a statement. "The state audit's recommendations to strengthen our compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act reaffirm the work undertaken by the CSU system and our universities since the update to CalNAGPRA in 2020."
"However, we recognize that there is much work still to be done," Koester continued. "The CSU is committed to laying the crucial infrastructure that will accomplish repatriation in a timely manner and demonstrate our deep respect, regard and alliance with Native American communities."
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