Repatriation of ancestral remains
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Re “Berkeley’s inaction on bones criticized,” Feb. 27
The leadership of UC Berkeley and the staff of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology are committed to seeing that ancestral remains and funerary objects held by the museum are properly repatriated to those Native American tribes that seek them. The return of remains is regulated by the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which requires museum scientists, official tribal representatives and tribes to follow procedures designed to ensure that remains are returned to tribes with documented connections to them. We believe that UC Berkeley has complied with the law, and our commitment to increase the number of successful repatriations can be seen through our accelerated work with California tribes over the last six months. We will welcome the implementation of the law at the state level because that will give additional opportunity, structure and guidance for repatriation to groups that are not now federally recognized.
It is unfortunate that this, the most important message we tried to deliver, got lost among the other issues that dominated the recent state Senate hearing.
Judson King
Berkeley
The writer is interim director of UC Berkeley’s Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology.
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