UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) is working to return Native American ancestral remains and cultural items by 2028. In 2024, the university created a Repatriation Office to comply with federal and state laws, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This office works with Native Nations, summarizes collections, and holds consultations to provide tribes with information about their heritage.
Most of UCSB’s Native American items are kept in the Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections. This facility is not open to the public, and research access requires tribal permission. Most collections come from Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties, which are Chumash homelands. UCSB has managed more than 700 Native ancestors and about 22,000 funerary objects.
The university’s NAGPRA Oversight Committee includes faculty and Native representatives, such as Cristina Gonzalez of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, who serves as chair. Other members are Gregory Johnson, Jon Daehnke, Nakia Zavalla, and Stuart Tyson Smith. Garry Mac Pherson, the chancellor’s NAGPRA designee, noted the importance of working with Native American communities…