By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media Asm. James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), center, the chairperson of the Native American Legislative Caucus,
This year, on Sept. 6, after the Labor Day holiday, tribal leaders will travel to the State Capitol to address the legislature about the recent audit of the California State University system’s failure to repatriate nearly 700,000 Native American human remains and artifacts. The bill, AB 389, will require monitoring campus efforts to review their collections and completion of repatriation activities by December 2025, implementing protocols for handling and identifying remains and cultural items and issuing a system wide Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act policy establishing consistent repatriation processes and training requirements. Sponsors supporting this important trust building measure include the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Redding Rancheria, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Ricon Band of Luiseno Indians, Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, Tule River Indian Tribe of California, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the Tachi Yokut Trib