At some museums and universities, the remains of indigenous people are sitting in boxes for researchers to study or to be viewed by the public. Indigenous tribes across the nation, including Chumash tribes on the Central Coast, have been advocating for decades to get the remains back. Some feel the process is taking too long.
Nakia Zavalla is the Cultural Director for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. She said the tribe feels disrespected by the way the remains have been handled by US institutions.
“This all was done under very unethical research. They were taking human remains from graves that didn't belong to them. They felt they had the authority to take something that did not belong to them and it's time that the ancestors come home,” Zavalla said.
In 1990, Congress established a process for the repatriation of Native American human remains and sacred objects. But Zavalla said the loose language around the bill made it easy for institutions to not prioritize repatriation.
A report by the state auditor from last year said one California state university had returned most of its collection, but it only accounted for about 6% of the total collections from CSU’s. Meanwhile, CalMatters reported the University of California had returned 35% of 17,000 remains.
Zavalla said museums and universities across the nation claimed they were understaffed and were not able to complete their inventory of the remains.
“So you know we knew that there was ancestors housed at a certain location, but yet they did not complete their inventory and so that holds up the process to begin repatriation,” Zavalla said.
A UC representative said it's currently working to facilitate repatriations to the Chumash, and the timing of which will be co-developed with the Chumash. Cal State University was not able to respond to KCBX in time for this story.
Zavalla said she hopes new regulations enforced at the beginning of this year will speed the process up. US institutions are now required to complete the repatriation process in five years, according to the Department of Interior.
This past summer, the National Park Service also allocated $3 million in grants to help return remains back to tribes. A representative from LA’s Natural History Museum told KCBX that finding the funding to transport the remains and locating new burial grounds can also prolong repatriation efforts.
Failure to return Native American remains can result in a fine of more than $7,000.
