UC Riverside slow to return Native American artifacts to tribes audit

Описание: Four schools in the University of California system, including UC Riverside, have repeatedly failed to return sacred Native American artifacts to tribes in a timely manner, according to a new state audit. UC system campuses in Riverside, Berkeley, Santa Barbara and San Diego have historically struggled to inventory and repatriate massive Native American collections, according to the 31-page report released this month detailing an audit that began last year.“Some campuses have yet to completely review all the remains and cultural items in their control, ” said the audit, adding it will likely take a decade to give the items back to the tribes. Only UC Davis and UCLA have repatriated the majority of their Native American collections. The audit noted that UC Riverside has returned less than 1% of its Native American artifacts and will likely need $165, 000 annually to complete the task. The 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California Assembly Bill 2836, enacted in 2018, established requirements for the return of human remains and cultural items from governmental and museum collections. Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Indians in Riverside County, said he is incensed by the audit’s findings with regard to UC Riverside.“The university has a pathetic and reprehensible history of breaking federal NAGPRA for 42 years and now AB 2836 of 2018, ” Macarro said in an email. “That the auditor reached similar conclusions in 2020 only confirms this reality. It is obvious that we will need to bring additional measures to compel compliance. ”Officials with the UC system said Monday it welcomes the auditors’ recommendations for improvements.“UC is committed to implementing all recommendations and believes they will help further our efforts to fulfill our ethical obligation to return ancestral remains and cultural items to the tribes in a prompt and respectful manner, ” Stett Holbrook, a spokesperson for the system, said in a statement. The UC system issued a new Native American cultural affiliation and repatriation policy in December 2021 to “make real and meaningful progress, ” Holbrook added. A federally recognized tribe may request the return of its ancestors’ remains and cultural items by submitting a repatriation claim to the government.“Once entities return remains, some tribes may choose to rebury them because those tribes believe that the spirits of their ancestors cannot rest until they are properly buried, ” the audit states. The Riverside and San Diego campuses recently discovered large collections of artifacts that, in some instances, were stored inappropriately.“The Office of the President (of the UC system) has not ensured consistency in how campuses respond to newly discovered collections, ” the audit said. “As a result, tribes may have different experiences when working with campuses to reclaim their ancestors, creating an unnecessary level of complexity and possible frustration.


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