In accordance with the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 (the Act), higher institutions that receive state funding and have possession or control over collection of California Native American human remains and associated funerary objects to inventory those remains and objects for repatriation to the appropriate California Indian tribes.
AB 226 strongly urges the University of California to report, on or before June 30, 2024, each campuses efforts towards completing repatriation as required by the Act. The bill strong urges the office of the President of the University of California to provide available funding to support each campuses efforts towards completing repatriation under the Act. Finally, the bill strongly urges the University of California prohibit the use of any Native American human remains or cultural items for purposes of teaching or search at the University of California.
The bill also amends extending law to continue to require the State Auditor audit the University of California in 2024 and 2026 regarding the University of California’s compliance with the federal Native American Graves Protection Repatriation Act. The bill further amends existing law to require the State Auditor to report its findings to the Native American Heritage Commission, in addition to the Legislature and other appropriate entities. The bill or existing legislation identify who the “other appropriate entities” are.
(AB 226 adds Article 2.9 (commencing with Section 92618) to Chapter 6 of Part 57 of Division 9 of Title 3 of the Education Code, and amends Section 8028 of the Health and Safety Code.)