Berkeley Plans Return of Baskets and Charmstones
Published Date: 6/4/2026
Notice
Summary
The University of California, Berkeley plans to return four important cultural items—two baskets and two charmstones—to Native American tribes connected to them. This repatriation will start on or after July 6, 2026, honoring the tribes’ heritage and history. No money changes hands, but the university is making sure these treasures go back to their rightful communities.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Four Cultural Items To Be Repatriated
The University of California, Berkeley intends to return four cultural items — two baskets (objects of cultural patrimony) and two charmstones (unassociated funerary objects) — to affiliated Native American communities. The university says the repatriation may occur on or after July 6, 2026, and identifies a reasonable connection to the Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California.
Who May Request Repatriation
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization may submit a written request for repatriation if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated. The notice states the university must resolve competing requests and that joint requests are treated as a single request; repatriation may occur on or after July 6, 2026.
Collections May Have Hazardous Treatments
The notice states that collections and storage spaces at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology were treated with preservation and pest-control substances, some potentially hazardous, and that no records were found indicating whether chemicals or natural substances were used prior to 1960. This information is provided in the museum's repatriation notice.
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