Berkeley Plans Return of Cemetery Items to Native Descendants
Published Date: 11/12/2026
Notice
Summary
The University of California, Berkeley plans to return 57 cultural items taken from a family cemetery in Alameda County back to their Native American descendants starting December 14, 2026. These items include beads, a cross, pottery pieces, and more, all stored at the university’s anthropology museum. This repatriation respects Native American heritage and involves careful handling due to past preservation treatments.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Return of 57 burial-related items
The University of California, Berkeley intends to return 57 cultural items (including beads, a cross used as a grave marker, fastener, faunal remains, iron, marble, nail, pendant, porcelain fragments, potsherds, shells, and tiles) to known lineal descendants. The repatriation may occur on or after December 14, 2026, and the items were accessioned at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology after removal from a family cemetery in Alameda County between 1950 and 1951.
Who may request repatriation
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not named in the notice may submit a written request for repatriation if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are entitled. If competing requests are received, the University of California, Berkeley must determine the most appropriate requestor; joint requests are treated as a single request. Repatriation to an approved requestor may occur on or after December 14, 2026.
Potential chemical hazards in collections
The museum notes that collections and storage spaces were treated with preservation and pest-control substances, some potentially hazardous, and no records have been found indicating whether chemicals or natural substances were used prior to 1960. Because of this, the items may require careful handling during repatriation.
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