California State University, Bakersfield, hosted a panel discussion on Thursday addressing the impact of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and its California counterpart, CalNAGPRA, focusing on the legal, ethical, and cultural responsibilities institutions hold when caring for Indigenous ancestral remains and sacred items.
NAGPRA is a federal law passed in 1990 that requires museums and universities to return Native American human remains and sacred items to tribes and families.
CalNAGPRA is California’s version of the law, passed in 2001, which adds stronger rules in the state and includes tribes that are not federally recognized…