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= Cal NAGPRA =

Introduction:
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.

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.

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, Eastern Shoshone, Zuni, and Navajo are not interested in 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.

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

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.

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 are 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.

Muwekma Ohlone Tribe:
The Muwekma Ohlone, who live in the San Francisco Bay area, were depopulated by Spanish colonial oppression and were once defined as extinct. The introduction of Cal NAGPRA prompted interaction between Muwekma Ohlone and archaeologists, and Muwekma Ohlone reconnected with the culture and spirit of her ancestors through her participation in archaeological research as well as repatriated remains.

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.

1. Repatriation is not only a legal and ethical issue but also a deeply emotional and symbolic one, as it involves the reclamation of cultural heritage and the restoration of identity and dignity for indigenous communities.

Kakaliouras, A. M. (2012). An anthropology of repatriation. Current Anthropology, 53(S5). https://doi.org/10.1086/662331

2. Repatriation can help indigenous communities recover and revitalize cultural practices and traditions.California tribes such as Kashia Pomo and the Karuk have gained a deeper understanding of their culture and their identity with the help of Cal-NAGPRA.

Kakaliouras, A. M. (2012). An anthropology of repatriation. Current Anthropology, 53(S5). https://doi.org/10.1086/662331

3. Involving Indigenous communities in the repatriation process and recognizing their knowledge and expertise in understanding their own cultural heritage are essential. Archaeologists and 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. Cal-NAGPRA is a policy that can achieve this. For example, Hopi tribe has provided important contextual information about the use of natural resources and the significance of particular sites, which has helped archaeologists to interpret the data more accurately.

Ferguson, T., Koyiyumptewa, S., & Hopkins, M. (2015). Co-Creation of Knowledge by the Hopi Tribe and Archaeologists. Advances in Archaeological Practice, 3(3), 249-262. doi:10.7183/2326-3768.3.3.249

4. Despite its significant contributions to the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural heritage, the California Native American Graves Protection Act (CAL NAGPRA) has several shortcomings, 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.

Orona, B., & Esquivido, V. (2020). Continued Disembodiment: NAGPRA, CAL NAGPRA, and Recognition. Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, 42, 50–68. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26932595

5. Cal NAGPRA continues to be improved in order to more fully protect the rights of Native tribes in California. In 2020, AB 275 was passed and signed to strengthen CalNAGPRA 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.

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=26120