News Update

UC schools lag in returning human remains and artifacts to tribes

The University of California is slow to return human remains and cultural artifacts to Indigenous tribes, despite recent improvements, according to a state auditor in a report released Thursday. Four UC schools maintain large collections of items, some of which the system has had for centuries.

This is the second report in three years the state auditor has released about UC system’s compliance with the 1990 federal law and 2001 state law requiring the return of human remains and cultural artifacts, according to The Sacramento Bee.

According to the report, the current pace would mean that it would take at least a decade to return all of the items. The Sacramento Bee reported that UC Berkeley has directed more funding toward the effort and repatriated some remains and cultural items to the Wiyot people in January, who live in Humboldt Bay. However, a long road remains ahead.


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