CalNAGPRA and NAGPRA
Caltrans is committed to the repatriation of ancestors and objects to culturally affiliated California Indian Tribes. The ancestral remains and cultural materials owned/controlled by Caltrans were recovered from the right-of-way during archaeological investigations as a part of the department’s compliance with environmental laws (CEQA, NEPA, NHPA, etc.) in support of the project delivery process. Caltrans archaeological collections are housed at 30 repositories (universities or museums) in California and Nevada.
The Headquarters Cultural Studies Office (CSO) provides statewide guidance and technical assistance to the 12 Districts, who are managing the implementation of CalNAGPRA and NAGPRA at the local level. More information about CalNAGPRA can be found on the California Native American Heritage Commission’s (NAHC) website and more information about NAGPRA can be found on the National NAGPRA program website.
Caltrans is making all archaeological collections owned/controlled by the department available for repatriation consultation with culturally affiliated California Indian Tribes under both CalNAGPRA and NAGPRA. Caltrans has posted summaries and inventories to the NAHC’s Database, is providing summaries for all collections to National NAGPRA for posting on their Summaries Database, and is seeking tribal consultation on the development of inventories for posting in the National NAGPRA Inventories Database. Through the tribal consultation process, Caltrans will move repatriation forward through the Preliminary and Final stages of CalNAGPRA and through the posting of notices to the Federal Register for NAGPRA. Please reach out to the District point of contact listed below if you have inquiries regarding repatriation or would like to engage in repatriation consultation.
Caltrans Collections Handling-Research Letter (PDF)
Caltrans CalNAGPRA-NAGPRA Claims Process (PDF)
Helpful Links for CalNAGPRA and NAGPRA
Native American Heritage Commission
District Points of Contact for CalNAGPRA and NAGPRA
Headquarters Cultural Studies Office (Sacramento Office): Emily Castano
District 1 (Eureka): Elizabeth Hodges and Marisol Espino
Counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Lake
District 2 (Redding): Elizabeth Truman
Counties: Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen Tehama, and Plumas
District 3 (Marysville/Sacramento): Lisa Bright
Counties: Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Yolo, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, and El Dorado
District 4 (Bay Area/Oakland): Lindsay Busse and Althea Asaro
Counties: Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, and Santa Clara
District 5 (San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara): Robert Johnson-Ramirez
Counties: Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara
District 6 (Fresno/Bakersfield): Mandy Macias
Counties: Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Kern
District 7 (Los Angeles): Caprice “Kip” Harper
Counties: Ventura and Los Angeles
District 8 (San Bernardino/Riverside): Gary Jones
Counties: Riverside and San Bernardino
District 9 (Bishop): Christina MacDonald and Jennifer Blake
Counties: Mono and Inyo
District 10 (Stockton): Amber Tedrow
Counties: San Joaquin, Amador, Calaveras, Alpine, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced, and Mariposa
District 11 (San Diego): Natalia Galeana
Counties: Imperial and San Diego
District 12 (Orange County): Cheryl Sinopoli
Counties: Orange