Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation in California State Parks

NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.,) is a United States federal law passed in November 1990. NAGPRA requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American cultural items to their respective peoples. In addition, the Act establishes a program of federal grants to assist in the repatriation process and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to assess civil penalties on museums that fail to comply.

CalNAGPRA, the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001, was passed with the intent to cover gaps in the federal NAGPRA specific to the State of California. In 2020, AB 275 was passed and signed to strengthen CalNAGPRA for non-federally recognized California Native American tribes and elevate the status of tribal traditional knowledge in determining cultural affiliation and identifying cultural items, among other changes to the law. CalNAGPRA runs concurrently with federal NAGPRA.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation’s Tribal Affairs Program, in partnership with the Tribal Justice Project in the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies at UC Davis School of Law, is currently developing guidelines, procedures, and policies surrounding NAGPRA compliance.

 

Department NAGPRA Coordinator

Leslie L. Hartzell, Cultural Resources Division Chief, is the Department’s Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Coordinator. As the Department NAGPRA Coordinator, she is actively working with culturally affiliated tribes throughout the state to identify and repatriate the remains of their ancestors and other cultural items.

The Department NAGPRA Coordinator is responsible for the Department’s compliance with NAGPRA and the receiving and review of repatriation claims and facilitating NAGPRA-required consultations. Other duties of the Coordinator include the preparation and presentation of information on tribal claims and consultation to designated Native American groups, maintaining permanent files of notifications and claims, representing the Department’s repatriation program to California Native American tribes, other state agencies and the museum and archaeological communities

Tribes interested in consultation regarding NAGPRA should contact the NAGPRA Coordinator, Leslie L. Hartzell, Cultural Resources Division Chief.

Contact State Parks' NAGPRA Coordinator

 

 

NAGPRA Notices

Search the Federal Register for notices published by or associated with the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) here: Federal Register