California DOT Readies Native American Funerary Items for Tribal Return
Published Date: 6/17/2025
Notice
Summary
Caltrans has finished checking and listing certain Native American items linked to tribes and Native Hawaiian groups. This means these items are ready to be returned to their rightful communities. If you’re part of these groups, now’s the time to pay attention—no money changes hands, but the process is official and important.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Caltrans finishes NAGPRA inventory
Caltrans completed an inventory under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and determined a cultural affiliation between certain associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. This means those objects are identified and ready to be returned to the affiliated tribes or organizations.
Repatriation involves no payment
The notice states that the repatriation process does not involve any exchange of money — no funds are paid as part of returning the associated funerary objects to Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The process is an official inventory and return under NAGPRA, not a sale or purchase.
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