Revision Background

In early 2019, UC formed a Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation Policy Advisory Workgroup. The Workgroup was comprised of four members nominated by the UC Academic Senate, and four members nominated by the President’s Native American Advisory Council (PNAAC), a body also established by President Napolitano to advise UC on a broad range of issues pertaining to Native Americans and Native Hawaiians at the university. The Workgroup included members of federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes from different regions of California. The members from the Academic Senate represent departments such as law, history, and ethnic studies, all with expertise in Native American issues. The Workgroup was chaired by Provost and Executive Vice President Michael T. Brown. The members of the Workgroup were:

  • Phenocia Bauerle, Director of Native American Student Development, UC Berkeley
  • Dino Beltran, Vice Chair, Koi Nation of Northern California
  • Carole Goldberg, Distinguished Research Professor of Law, UCLA
  • Amy Lonetree, Associate Professor of History, UC Santa Cruz
  • Valentin Lopez, Tribal Chair, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
  • Mark Macarro, Tribal Chair, Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians
  • Desireé Martinez, Principal Archaeologist, Cogstone Resource Management
  • Beth Piatote, Associate Professor of Native American Studies, UC Berkeley
  • Angela Riley, Professor of Law, UCLA
  • Clifford Trafzer, Distinguished Professor of History, UC Riverside

After deliberations with the Workgroup, UC prepared a draft first version of a revised policy, which was sent to stakeholders across California for comment, including the California Native American tribes on the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) contact list, the NAHC and the UC community. The comment period for Version 1 ended November 15, 2019.

The second revised draft policy, released in January 2020, was updated in response to the comments received (PDF) in fall 2019.

UC received input on this version via four work sessions with Native American communities, online surveys, one-on-one conversations, and direct correspondence during the comment period ending on February 28, 2020.

Recordings of the work sessions are available online:

Following review and deliberation by the Workgroup of all comments received (PDF) concerning the second version, the third version of the Revised Policy was released in April 2020 for stakeholder review through June 23, 2020.

Following consultation with tribes and other stakeholders, an Interim Policy was issued on July 24, 2020. To allow tribes that were unable to review the policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic additional time to comment, UC accepted additional written comments and requests for consultation through November 15, 2020, with the intent of issuing a final policy on or about December 31, 2020.

For additional information on the release of the Interim Policy, please see President Janet Napolitano's June 24, 2020 issuance letter and apology (PDF).

However, on September 29, 2020, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 275, which became effective on January 1, 2021. AB 275 made significant changes to the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act ("CalNAGPRA") which required the University to further analyze and update the Interim Policy to reconcile it with these new requirements. A draft revised Policy incorporating these new requirements was released on March 1, 2021. UC accepted written comments and requests for consultation through May 31, 2021 and continued to engage in consultation with stakeholders through Fall 2021.

A new UC Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation Policy (PDF) was issued on December 17, 2021 and became effective on January 1, 2022.

Copies of the previous policy drafts mentioned above are available upon request.