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Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) requires Federal agencies or any institution receiving Federal funding to complete summaries (43 CFR 10.8) and inventories (43 CFR 10.9) for collections that include ancestral remains, funerary objects, sacred items, and objects of cultural patrimony, and to notify possible lineal descendants, culturally affiliated tribes, or Native Hawaiian Organizations. NAGPRA (25 USC 3002 Section 5) became Federal Law upon November 16th, 1990. Holdings which include Native American ancestral remains, funerary objects, sacred items, and objects of cultural patrimony are subject to repatriation to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated tribes or Native Hawaiian Organizations.

In addition to Federal NAGPRA, all state funded agencies/museums/institutions in California are required to follow the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (CalNAGPRA). This law was originally passed in 2001 (AB-978) and included provisions meant to cover gaps in Federal NAGPRA specific to California. It also established the Repatriation Oversight Commission to oversee compliance with the law, but the Commission was ultimately never funded and the law was never enforced. Recent CalNAGPRA amendments; however, have granted oversight authority of CalNAGPRA to the California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC). AB-2836, passed in 2018, is specific to the University of California (UC) system and calls for the creation of systemwide and campus specific Oversight Committees and policies. While AB-275, passed in 2020, has specific provisions that apply only to the UC system, the majority of the law applies to all state funded museums/agencies/institutions. It requires all state funded entities to submit a Preliminary Inventory and Summary to the NAHC for all of their archaeological and ethnographic collections that originate from California, which will be published to the NAHC's website for review by tribes. The law also strengthens the ability of non-federally recognized California Native American tribes (as determined by the NAHC) to engage in the NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA process, places greater weight on tribal traditional knowledge in determining cultural affiliation and identifying cultural objects, and requires the NAHC to maintain a list of California Indian tribes and to adopt mediation procedures, among other measures.

California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) is committed to fulfilling the University’s responsibilities under NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA. The staff at the Archaeological Curation Facility (ACF) are actively inventorying collections, consulting with tribal representatives, and performing other tasks necessary under the laws to repatriate ancestral remains to descendant communities.

For more information regarding NAGPRA, please visit the National NAGPRA website. For more information on CalNAGPRA, please visit the NAHC's CalNAGPRA website. For questions regarding NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA at Sacramento State, please contact the NAGPRA Coordinator, Sarah Eckhardt via email at Sarah.eckhardt@csus.edu, telephone at (916) 278-6292 or mail at:

Sarah Eckhardt
NAGPRA Coordinator
Department of Anthropology, MS 6106
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-6106

CalNAGPRA Preliminary Summary and Inventory

Sacramento State has submitted Preliminary Inventories and Summaries of our archaeological and ethnographic collections from California to the California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), as required under CalNAGPRA (Section 8013 of the Health and Safety Code). These inventories and summaries are now available for review on the NAHC's website. Prior to submission, the University invited tribes across the state to review and offer comment on Sacramento State's draft Preliminary Inventory and Summary. Feedback received from tribes was reviewed by Sacramento State and taken under advisement before the Preliminary Inventories and Summaries were submitted to the NAHC.

Please contact our NAGPRA Coordinator, Sarah Eckhardt, at (916) 278-6292 or sarah.eckhardt@csus.edu if you have any questions about Sacramento State's Preliminary Inventories and Summaries, if you wish to schedule a consultation concerning any of our collections, or if you would like to request an Excel formated copy of the Preliminary Inventories and Summaries submitted to the NAHC by Sacramento State.

Nominate Tribal Representatives to the Campus NAGPRA Advisory Committee

California State University, Sacramento is currently recruiting nominees from tribal nations to serve a three-year term on the campus NAGPRA Advisory Committee. The University, in support of community building, consultation, and transparency, recognizes the need to incorporate the concerns and perspectives of Native American descendant groups in NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA decision-making while fostering stronger relationships with our tribal partners. To this end, the University is seeking representatives from California tribal nations that are culturally-affiliated with campus collections to fill two spots on the Committee.

The President of the University delegated the authority concerning repatriation-related issues to the Dean of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies (SSIS). The SSIS NAGPRA Advisory Committee counsels the Dean as requested on specific matters relating to the implementation of NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA. This includes making recommendations that are consistent with legislation and the mission of the University; offer recommendations and oversight of policies and procedures; advise on research requests and loans for collections that are culturally-affiliated with tribal nations; review claims and requests submitted by tribal nations; provide guidance on cultural affiliation and disposition decisions; and offer solutions to possible conflicts between stakeholders.

Currently, committee members consist of representatives of the University’s Anthropology Department, Ethnic Studies Department and Native American Studies program, and one external public agency representative. Each member serves a three-year term. The Committee meets monthly to discuss and advise the Dean on current subjects.

To nominate someone, please send a short biography of the nominee or statement of interest that includes their contact information, a letter of support from a tribal official or tribal resolution from the nominee’s tribal government, and a resume or listing of cultural experiences and consultations by March 24, 2023. The nominee must be a member of a California Indian tribe. Preference will be given to nominees who have demonstrated experience with repatriation and consultation under NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA, which should be clearly outlined in the documentation provided.

All completed nominations received on or before March 24, 2023 will be shared with and evaluated by the existing NAGPRA Advisory Committee members and Dean of SSIS. Appointment notices will be sent to the selected nominees in April 2023.

Please send your completed nominations to Sarah Eckhardt, NAGPRA Coordinator, via email at Sarah.Eckhardt@csus.edu. If you have any questions or other concerns, you can also reach Mrs. Eckhardt by phone at 916-278-6292.

Published Notices

The table below provides a list of Notices of Inventory Completion and Notices of Intent to Repatriate that Sacramento State has published to the Federal Register. In most of these cases, the ancestral remains and funerary objects have already been repatriated to culturally affiliated Native American tribes.

Site/Collection Type of Notice Date Published Status Citation/Link
CA-YOL-15 and YOL-106 Notice of Inventory Completion 03/02/2023 Claimed Vol. 88, No. 41, Page 13148-13149
CA-YOL-16, YOL-71, and unknown sites in the Capay Valley Notice of Intent to Repatriate 03/02/2023 Claimed Vol. 88, No. 41, Page 13147
CA-AMA-06, 07, 21, 25, 41, 51, 53, 65, 67, 78, 96, 97, 105, 255 Notice of Intent to Repatriate 03/02/2023 Claimed Vol. 88, No. 41, Page 13146-13147
CA-SAC-127 Notice of Inventory Completion 03/02/2023 Claimed Vol. 88, No. 41, Page 13147-13148
CA-SAC-113 Notice of Inventory Completion 03/02/2023 Claimed Vol. 88, No. 41, Page 13147-13148
CA-SAC-16 Notice of Intent to Repatriate 09/27/2021 Repatriated Vol. 86, No. 184, Page 53344-53345
CA-SAC-16 Notice of Inventory Completion 09/27/2021 Repatriated Vol. 86, No. 184, Page 53343-53344 
CA-SAC-166 Notice of Inventory Completion 04/22/2021 Repatriated Vol. 86, No. 76, Page 21346-21347
Zallio (Chumash Portion)  Notice of Intent to Repatriate 04/22/2021 No Claims or Requests Vol. 86, No. 76, Page 21345-21346
Zallio (Chumash Portion) Notice of Inventory Completion 04/22/2021 No Claims or Requests Vol. 86, No. 76, Page 21344-21345
Zallio (CA-SAC-157) Notice of Inventory Completion  08/03/2020 Repatriated Vol. 85, No. 149, Page 46704-46705
CA-SJO-91 Correction 04/04/2018 Repatriated Vol. 83, No. 65, Page 14496
Zallio (Nisenan Portion) Correction 04/28/2015 Repatriated Vol. 80, No. 81, Page 23577-23578
Zallio (Miwok Portion) Notice of Inventory Completion  02/06/2015 Repatriated Vol. 80, No. 25, Page 6751-6755 
Zallio (Nisenan Portion) Notice of Inventory Completion  02/04/2015 Repatriated Vol. 80, No. 23, Page 6118-6119 
Zallio (Nisenan Portion)  Notice of Intent to Repatriate 02/04/2015 Repatriated Vol. 80, No. 23, Page 6130-6131
Zallio (CUI Portion) Notice of Inventory Completion 02/04/2015 Repatriated Vol. 80, No. 23, Page 6121-6124 
Zallio (Miwok Portion) Notice of Intent to Repatriate  02/04/2015 Repatriated Vol. 80, No. 23, Page 6132-6135
Zallio (Patwin Portion) Notice of Inventory Completion 02/04/2015 Repatriated Vol. 80, No. 23, Page 6102-6104
CA-SJO-17 Notice of Intent to Repatriate 09/10/2014 Repatriated Vol. 79, No. 175, Page 53779-53780
CA-SJO-17 Notice of Inventory Completion 09/10/2014 Repatriated Vol. 79, No. 175, Page 53760-53761
CA-SAC-16 Notice of Inventory Completion 03/15/2011 Repatriated Vol. 76, No. 50, Page 14052-14054
CA-SAC-16 Notice of Intent to Repatriate 03/15/2011 Repatriated Vol. 76, No. 50, Page 14049-14050
CA-SJO-91 Notice of Inventory Completion  03/15/2011 Repatriated Vol. 76, No. 50, Page 14055-14056
CA-SJO-91 Notice of Intent to Repatriate 03/15/2011 Repatriated Vol. 76, No. 50, Page 14047-14048 
CA-SHA-385, CA-SHA-395, CA-SHA-396, CA-SHA-409 Notice of Inventory Completion  09/13/2005 Repatriated Vol. 70, No. 176, Page 54074-54075

Sacramento State NAGPRA Policies & Procedures  

Sacramento State is currently drafting updated NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA policies and procedures that will be posted here once they have been finalized and approved. The graphic below provides a basic overview of our current NAGPRA procedures.

Flow chart showing NAGPRA process followed at CSUS.

NAGPRA Forms

The table below provides links to the forms Sacramento State uses for NAGPRA. Each form should be completed and sent to the NAGPRA Coordinator, Sarah Eckhardt, either via email or mail to:

Sarah Eckhardt
NAGPRA Coordinator
Department of Anthropology, MS 6106
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-6106
sarah.eckhardt@csus.edu

Form Name and Link Description
Consultation/Visit/Viewing Request Form Used by interested lineal descendants and tribes to arrange a consultation/visit/viewing of a NAGPRA collection(s) held at Sacramento State. 
Records Request  Used to request access to the ACF's archives. These are processed on a case by case basis. Please submit this form along with a copy of your research proposal, contract or other documentation explaining your need for access to the ACF archives.
Sample Claim Letter This is a sample claim letter that lineal descendants and tribes can use for submitting claims of cultural affiliation to collections of human remains and associated funerary objects (if any) or cultural objects.
Request Form  Used for submitting a request. Requests are the result of substantiated claims and seek the repatriation or disposition of collections of human remains and associated funerary objects (if any) or cultural objects.
Supplemental Signature Form  Used to record the signatures, names, tribes, and dates of authorized NAGPRA Designees for tribes submitting a claim or request together. Tribes filing jointly should still submit a claim letter or Request Form to identify the specific collection(s) and/or object(s) they are claiming or requesting. However, the “Supplemental Signature Form” must accompany the claim letter or Request Form so that the University has written verification that each participating tribe has authorized the joint claim or request.

Sacramento State Resources

California State University System Resources

External Resources