NAGPRA
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) strengthened the legal rights of lineal descendants, Tribal Nations, and Native Hawaiian Organizations over their ancestral remains and ownership over cultural items (such as funerary objects, sacred items, and objects of cultural patrimony).
The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (CalNAGPRA) added further protections in the state of California and compliments federal law.
These laws require museums or institutions such as Los Rios Colleges that have received federal funding, to produce summaries and inventories of their collections which may be subject to these laws and to consult with possible lineal descendants, Tribal Nations, and Native Hawaiian Organizations on the handling of collections and for the purposes of repatriation.
The Los Rios Community College District is committed to the repatriation of Native American and Hawaiian ancestral remains and the return of culturally significant items to their traditional homelands.
NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA at Los Rios
The Los Rios Community College District holds legacy collections of Native American ancestral remains and cultural items largely from Northern California and a few other western states. Most of the District's NAGPRA eligible holdings are the remnants of the Lillard Collection, which was originally housed at the Sacramento Junior College Museum (now Sacramento City College), and which closed in 1942.
Most Sacramento Junior College Museum holdings were transferred to other museums in the 1940s. Consultations with Lineal Descendants, Tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations on these collections are ongoing.
Reporting
In 2023-2024, a room-by-room survey of all campus facilities was undertaken – in consultation with Sacramento area Tribes – to locate any unidentified Native American ancestral remains or cultural items subject to federal and state law.
If you believe there to be unreported human remains or cultural items subject to Federal NAGPRA or CalNAGPRA on a Los Rios campus, you may submit an anonymous report for further inquiry.
Moratorium
The Los Rios moratorium on the use of human remains was enacted to ensure that no human remains or cultural materials in possession of the district subject to federal and state law are being utilized outside the legal scope of their use.
The moratorium is scheduled to end when the district has a comprehensive NAGPRA policy to ensure there is a clear process for compliance with federal and state laws.
The anticipated completion date is by the end of 2026.
Policies
NAGPRA and Human Remains policy drafts are the hard work of a two-year, district-led taskforce in consultation with official representatives from eight federally recognized Tribes in the Los Rios service area.
Drafts of these policies are currently being discussed in the college senates.
Contact
Jamey Nye
Deputy Chancellor and NAGPRA Designee
NyeJ@losrios.edu
For inquiries related to NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA compliance, consultation information, the Los Rios collections, or the NAGPRA process at Los Rios, contact:
James M. Crandall, PhD
Director of NAGPRA and Special Projects
crandaj@losrios.edu
Notices
Notices of Inventory Completion and Notices of Intent to Repatriate are public notices that provide interested parties – such as lineal Descendants, Tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations – a legal avenue for requesting repatriation. They are also the legal avenue by which institutions like the Los Rios colleges disseminate knowledge of their holdings to comply with Federal NAGPRA regulations.
Notices of Inventory Completion Published by Los Rios
Notices of Inventory Completion describe an institution's knowledge about the Native American and Hawaiian ancestral remains and associated funerary objects in their possession.
| Collection /Site |
College | State | County | Published Date |
Repatriation Statement Date |
Status | MNI | Number of Items |
Federal Register Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lillard Collection (unknown CA) | SCC; ARC; FLC; CRC | CA | All | June 17, 2025 | TBA | Unrequested | 49 | 3 | |
| Lillard Collection (CA-SBA-513, Casmalia; Santa Cruz Island) | SCC | CA | Santa Barbara | June 17, 2025 | September 5, 2025 | Repatriated | 3 | 1 | |
| Sacramento County Coroner; Lillard Collection | SCC; ARC | CA | Sacramento | May 8, 2025 | June 10, 2025 | Repatriated | 7 | 0 | |
| Lillard Collection (CA-SAC-66, Morse Mound; CA-SAC-96, Allyn Mound) | SCC; ARC | CA | Sacramento | October 22, 2024 | November 25, 2024 | Repatriated | 1 | 1 | |
| Lillard Collection (CA-SAC-16, Bennett Mound) | SCC; ARC | CA | Sacramento | June 11,2024 | July 12, 2024 | Repatriated | 0 | 5 | |
| Lillard Collection (CA-SAC-06, Johnson Mound; (CA-SAC-127, Augustine Mound; CA-SAC-151, Needs Site) | SCC; ARC | CA | Sacramento | May 1, 2024 | June 17, 2024 | Repatriated | 0 | 4 | |
| ARC Faculty Collection (CA-SAC-171, P-34-000198) | ARC | CA | Sacramento | January 3, 2024 | February 2, 2024 | Repatriated | 3 | 0 | |
| CRC Faculty Collection | CRC | CA | Sacramento | March 5, 2007 | May 2, 2007 | Repatriated | 2 | 0 | |
| SCC Faculty Collection (Mesa Verde, CO) | SCC | CO | Montezuma | N/A | June 1, 1994 | Repatriated | 1 | 0 | N/A; prior to publication regulations |
Notices of Intent to Repatriate Published by Los Rios
Notices of Intent to Repatriate describe cultural items (unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony) in an institution's possession. These are determined through consultation with federally-recognized Tribes. California State law also requires consultation with non-federally recognized California Tribes.
| Collection/ Site |
College | State | County | Published Date | Repatriation Statement Date |
Status | MNI | Number of Items |
Federal Register Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lillard Collection (CA-SBA-210, Sudden Site) | SCC; ARC | CA | Santa Barbara | July 15, 2026 | TBA | Requested | 0 | 1 | |
| Lillard Collection; Hawaii Unknown | SCC; ARC | HI | All | July 2, 2026 | TBA | Requested | 0 | 15 | |
| Lillard Collection (CA-SAC-16, Bennett Mound; CA-SAC-29, King Brown Mound) | SCC; ARC | CA | Sacramento | May 19, 2026 | June 25, 2026 | Repatriated | 0 | 4 | |
| Lillard Collection (CA-SAC-107; Windmiller Mound) | SCC; ARC | CA | Sacramento | December 17, 2025 | January 20, 2026 | Repatriated | 0 | 1 | |
| Lillard Collection (Hattie's Cabin) | SCC; ARC | CA | El Dorado | May 22, 2025 | October 1, 2025 | Repatriated | 0 | 6 |