Æðµã´«Ã½

NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA at Æðµã´«Ã½

Æðµã´«Ã½ holds Native American ancestral remains and cultural items from . These are housed in the campus Archaeological Curation Facility (ACF), which acts as a repository for collections generated by past Department of Anthropology fieldwork and collections controlled by other state and federal agencies, and in the Museum of Anthropology.

Æðµã´«Ã½ is committed to fulfilling the University’s responsibilities under NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA. Repatriation activities at Æðµã´«Ã½ are led by a core staff with oversight by the Office of Tribal Affairs in the Office of the President, and the campus NAGPRA Implementation Committee. An organzational chart and role descriptions can be found here. Mark Wheeler, Senior Advisor to the President, serves as the campus NAGPRA Designee and can be reached via email at Mark.Wheeler@csus.edu. For questions or inquiries regarding NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA compliance at Æðµã´«Ã½, please contact the Repatriation Coordinator, Sarah Eckhardt via email at Sarah.eckhardt@csus.edu, telephone at (916) 278-6292 or mail at:

Sarah Eckhardt
Repatriation Coordinator and NAGPRA Program Analyst
Office of the President, MS 6106
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-6106

Requesting Consultation and Submitting Tribal Requests or Claims

All requests for consultation and NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA claims or repatriation requests should be submitted to the campus Repatriation Coordinator using the contact information provided above. Requests for consultation can also be submitted using . The Coordinator will acknowledged receipt of the submission within 5 business days.

Submitting Complaints, Concerns, Alleged Violations, or Appeals

To report concerns or complaints regarding campus personnel or alleged violations of repatriation laws or the CSU systemwide policy, please or email the Designee or Coordinator directly. The form can be submitted anonymously, or you may elect to include your contact information. If contact information is provided, the appropriate University representative will acknowledged receipt of the submission within 5 business days.

To submit an appeal or dispute regarding a University dertermination, identification, repatriation, or transfer of Ancestral Remains or cultural items, please or email the Designee or Coordinator directly. An appeal or dispute cannot be submitted anonymously. The appropriate University representative will acknowledged receipt of the submission within 5 business days.

Complaints and appeals can also be submitted to the CSU Systemwide NAGPRA Committee at nagpra@calstate.edu.

Reporting Native American Ancestral Remains and Cultural Objects

As part of Æðµã´«Ã½'s legal obligation under state and federal repatriation laws, and our ethical duty to our Tribal partners, we will regularly survey campus to ensure there are no unreported Native American ancestral remains and cultural objects that are the responsibility of the University. We have also established the form below to allow anyone to anonymously report at any time human remains and Native American cultural objects that they may have encountered during their work or studies at Æðµã´«Ã½. While the form below is anonymous, you may elect to provide contact information if you wish the NAGPRA Coordinator to follow up with you directly. All responses are confidential.

Repatriation Progress

The charts below represent a summary of Æðµã´«Ã½'s current repatriation progress for ancestral remains and cultural items. The percentages are approximations and are subject to change as consultations, collection reviews, and repatriations continue. The percentages also do not include repatriation progress for collections controlled by other agencies that are housed at Æðµã´«Ã½.

“Repatriated” means legal transfer to a culturally-affiliated Tribal Nation has occurred, but physical transfer may not have occurred yet. “In process” includes both collections that have been claimed by a Tribal Nation and are working through the next steps in the repatriation process, and collections that have completed the regulatory process (i.e. have been published in a Notice), but have not yet been requested for repatriation.

Last updated April 2026.

Campus NAGPRA Implementation Committee

Æðµã´«Ã½'s NAGPRA Implementation Committee oversees and counsels the University on matters relating to NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA. This includes making recommendations that are consistent with legislation and the mission of the University; offering recommendations on policies and procedures; reviewing claims and requests submitted by Tribal Nations; and providing guidance on other aspects of the appropriate implementation of repatriation law. The committee's approved constitution and bylaws can be found here.

Currently, members include representatives of the University’s Ethnic Studies Department and Native American Studies program, and three outside representatives from California Tribal Nations. There are two vacancies on the committee, a representative from a non-federally recognized California Tribal Nation and an additional campus representative. The current members have been nominated by the NAHC and appointed by the California State University Chancellor’s Office, as required under .

Vacancies to the committee will be announced and nomination forms and instructions can be accessed through the .

CalNAGPRA Inventories/Summaries

Æðµã´«Ã½ submitted Preliminary Inventories and Summaries of our archaeological and ethnographic collections from California to the California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), as required under CalNAGPRA. These inventories and summaries are now available for review on the . They are continuously updated as repatriations, consultations, and discoveries of unreported ancestral remains and cultural objects occur.