University Land Acknowledgment
We acknowledge with gratitude that the meeting place of California State University, Bakersfield is the traditional territory of the Kitanemuk (Ki-ta-ne-muk) people of the Tejon Tribe, a place their nation has called home, since time immemorial.
The land on which we gather today, and its surrounding areas, are still home to many Indigenous communities. We are grateful for all the Indigenous people who continue to care for and remain interconnected with this land. We promise to be conscientious stewards of this land for the future generations.
Learn more about CSUB's land acknowledgement.
Our Commitment / University Role
CSUB focuses resources on the respectful repatriation of the collections in our care. We prohibit or suspend new intakes, displays, research or teaching with of NAGPRA-related collections to prioritize compliance. We continue to engage in ongoing consultation with Native American Tribes. The campus NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA Repatriation Coordinator is tasked with ensuring compliance and repatriation efforts on behalf of the University.
Campus Compliance Efforts
CSUB is committed to complying with NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA through the following ongoing efforts and initiatives.
- President Harper announced our new systemwide policy for NAGPRA.
- Aligned respository spaces to fit Federal Standards of curation.
- Submitted our campus summary to Federal NAGPRA which contains all campus-controlled collections.
- Created a NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA Campus Committee that is comprised of Tribal Members and CSU Representatives to oversee NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA Compliance and Repatriation Efforts.
- Ongoing campus surveying and inventorying to ensure that no NAGPRA-eligible items or ancestors remain on campus.
California State University, Bakersfield NAGPRA Oversight Committee
1. Tribal Representative (Non-Federally Recognized): Vacant
2. Tribal Representative (Federally Recognized): Floyd Franco Jr. – Tule River Indian
Tribe (Appointed August 1, 2024)
3. Tribal Representative (Federally Recognized): Curtis Alcantar – Tejon Indian Tribe
(Appointed August 21, 2025)
4. Tribal Representative (Federally Recognized): Larea Lewis – Agua Caliente Band
of Cahuilla Indians (Appointed October 16, 2025)
5. CSU Representative: Vacant
6. CSU Representative: Vacant
7. CSU Native American Studies Representative: Dr. Maria Gutierrez de Jesus (Appointed
April 17, 2026)
NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA
What is NAGPRA?
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is a federal law passed in 1990 that requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funds (including universities) to repatriate or transfer Native American human remains and cultural items by:
- Consulting with lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
- Protecting items that may be removed from Federal or tribal lands.
- Identifying and reporting holdings in inventories and summaries.
- Providing notice prior to repatriation.
What is CalNAGPRA?
In 2001, the State Legislature passed AB-978, the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 (Steinberg, 2001), requiring all state agencies and museums that receive state funding and that have possession or control over collections of human remains or cultural items to provide a process for the identification and repatriation of these items to the appropriate tribes. The bill also created a Repatriation Oversight Commission with oversight authority. The intent of the legislation was to cover gaps in the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (Udall, 1990) specific to the State of California.
On September 25, 2020, Governor Newsom signed AB-275 (Ramos, 2020) into law, which amended CalNAGPRA and became effective on January 1, 2021. In AB-275, the State Legislature added additional Commission responsibilities, including maintaining a list of California Indian tribes and their state aboriginal territories, adopting mediation procedures, and publishing notices of completion of preliminary inventories and summaries on the Commission website.
(Source: CA Native American Heritage Commission)
CSU Systemwide NAGPRA Policy
The CSU adopted a historic Systemwide NAGPRA Policy to ensure consistent, timely compliance and repatriation across all campuses. Key elements include full-time coordinators, campus and systemwide committees, physical surveys, and robust Tribal consultation.
Additional Resources
- 2022 California State Auditor Report on CSU Compliance with NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA Webpage
- Association on American Indian Affairs
- California State University System NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA Webpage
- California State University, Bakersfield- Federal NAGPRA Notice Database
- CSU Campus Collections Map Webpage
- National NAGPRA Training Videos
- National NAGPRA Inventory & Summary Database
- California Native American Heritage Commission Webpage
- Native American Heritage Commission Inventories and Summaries Database
- US Code Passage of NAGPRA Act Webpage
Contact Us
Campus NAGPRA Team
