SIOUX LEADERS WORK ON BLACK HILLS LANDS PROPOSAL FOR OBAMA

Sioux leaders work on Black Hills lands proposal for Obama

By Kevin Woster

Rapid City Journal staff

Saturday, September 26, 2009


Sympathetic signs from President Barack Obama have inspired hope among Sioux spiritual and government leaders that some federal land in the Black Hills might one day be returned to Native American control.

Leaders for Sioux tribes in the Dakotas, Montana and Nebraska are holding meetings to shape a proposal on Black Hills land for the Obama administration, one they hope will be better than the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1980. That forced settlement was about millions of dollars, not acres of land, and it has consistently been rejected by tribes of the Great Sioux Nation.

“The consensus is that they will never take the money,” said Gay Kingman of Rapid City, executive director of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association. “It’s the land that matters.”

It’s also the White House that matters, and the man who occupies it. Obama made an effective outreach to Native Americans during his 2008 campaign. He also showed an inclination to listen when representatives of the Sioux tribes asked for real justice – to them, meaning land – in the long-simmering Black Hills dispute.

The official version of U.S. justice was the financial settlement awarded at $106 million in 1980 and since swollen with interest to almost $900 million.

Some eligible tribal members have filed a class-action suit to force the settlement money to be distributed. But most spiritual and governmental leaders among Sioux tribes oppose the monetary settlement. They’re holding out for the land instead.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe reflects the position of other tribes on the issue.

“The Rosebud tribe has taken a position that the Black Hills are simply not for sale,” former tribal councilman Robert Moore said. “And the tribe itself will not endorse any financial compensation for the land, based on previous settlement and interest.”

With Obama in the White House, many believe there is more hope than ever before that at least some unoccupied federal lands in the Black Hills could be returned to Sioux control. That’s why they have picked up the pace of meetings aimed at finding consensus among Sioux tribes in four states.

The tribes must meet that challenge before they reach out to Obama for help, Moore said.

“It’s the age-old issue of consensus,” he said. “What do the tribes want? How do they want this handled? The tribes have to come up with some consensus on this. The onus is really on them.”

Michael Jandreau, who has served as chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe for 30 years, agrees that consensus among the tribes is crucial to finding a long-sought land settlement option that the president would consider. But it’s a difficult process that can’t be delayed or rushed, Jandreau said.

“Before they can come up with a document that is agreeable, it’s going to be a little bit of work, which is good,” he said. “They need to sort things out.”

The sorting process began officially in July with a meeting of medicine men, elders and tribal government leaders at Green Grass on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Another meeting followed at Lower Brule last week. And the next will be hosted Oct. 19-20 in Flandreau by the Santee Sioux tribes in Flandreau and Nebraska.

The idea is to build off a meeting that tribal representatives had with Obama during the 2008 campaign. They came away believing that he was serious about trying to find a settlement beyond the 29-year-old U.S. Supreme Court award.

Moore, who worked with Obama on a national tribal advisory group, said Obama and his staffers are clearly interested in “learning more about the Black Hills, its legal and political history, about what could be possible.”

It’s an old issue, filled with emotion. There have been previous attempts to return land taken by the federal government to the Sioux, including the most-notable bill by New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley in the mid-1980s. The Bradley bill made headlines and caused controversy in South Dakota but fell flat in Congress.

At that time, few South Dakotans beyond the Native American community supported the Bradley bill and its intention to return to the Sioux about 1.3 million acres of unoccupied federal forest and some park lands in the hills.

Jandreau doubts there’s much more support among white South Dakotans now. Nor does he know who might pick up the charge in Congress for Bradley, who left the U.S. Senate more than 12 years ago. None of South Dakota’s three congressional members has shown an interest in supporting a rerun of the Bradley bill, almost certain to be a political liability in a statewide campaign.

Republican Sen. John Thune has said he’s not inclined to open up an issue that was ruled on by the courts years ago. Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson and Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin have not committed either way.

Obama hasn’t come out publicly about the Black Hills lands issue. But Moore, Jandreau and Kingman believe he is serious about listening. And the tribes are serious about talking, just as soon as they can figure out exactly what to say.

BAY MEWUK VILLAGE SITE LOCATED BY BAY AREA HIGH SCHOOL

'Archeological dig' at high school uncovers remains of 27
Removal expected to last through end of August

by Geoff Gille


The site of the new gymnasium at San Ramon Valley High School has become more of an archaeological dig than a construction site as technicians undergo the laborious process of uncovering and disinterring the 27 human remains found so far.

Flat blades have been added to the toothed maw of excavators, forcing them to carefully scrape layers of ground away as the search continues for more remains. Archaeological technicians have come from throughout the area to document the remains found. The bodies are found buried in small oval depressions, legs drawn up to the chest and arms folded into their sides.

Years of time in the ground have left little remaining but bones, but experts say this will be enough to tell at least some of the tale.

"This is called a 'flexed position' that they're buried in," said Andrew Galvan. Galvan, the curator of Mission Dolores, is a Native American who can trace his roots back to before the European colonization.

Galvan was named by the Native American Heritage Commission as the Most Likely Descendant, which puts him in charge of removing the remains and transporting them to the Ohlones Indian Cemetery in Fremont.

"There is a lot you can tell from the remains," he said. "By the size you can tell if it was an adult; you can tell the sex a couple of different ways."

One way scientists can determine gender is through the sciatic notch. Galvan said that because the notch will expand slightly during childbirth, a wider notch generally suggests a female while a narrower notch means a male. Another method would be using the brow ridge. Males had a greater protuberance in their brow ridge.

Technician Joel Garcia, a masters student at San Francisco State, marked off a grid surrounding one burial site in order to map out the remains.

"What we're doing to mitigate the site is to reconstruct it on paper," he explained. "It gives us a record of how the remains were situated within the site." Garcia said once the record was complete they would begin the process of taking the remains out of the site for transportation to a laboratory.

Testing is expected to determine how old the remains are, but Galvan said he would estimate they are somewhere between 250 and 2,000 years old. He added that because they have found some remains as deep as 8 feet below the ground and some as shallow as 3 feet that there could be a wide range in the timeframe the individuals were buried. Workers will examine artifacts found near the remains as a rough means of estimating their ages.

"The depth certainly is no sure indicator, but it suggests that those buried deeper may be from years earlier than those buried more shallowly," he stated.

Galvan, who has served as Descendant on numerous occasions during the past three decades, said he is expecting that they will find still another 20 or more individual remains over the course of examining the area.

Several archaeological sites surround the high school location. Galvan said Tatcan was a Bay Miwok village located near the high school, and the workers may have uncovered a mortuary complex.

"Think about the little church on the hillside with the fenced in cemetery in back," he posed. "People did that because they wanted to be able to bury their loved ones close by."

Once the remains have all been exposed, they will be carefully removed to an undisclosed location where they will be examined and prepared for re-burial in the Ohlones Indian Cemetery in Fremont.

In the meantime, work is proceeding on the new gymnasium at the high school, albeit more slowly. The major foundation work is expected to be completed by early next week. Galvan said that if they have found no further remains when the excavation for the foundation has reached its maximum depth they will close their investigation.

School District spokesman Terry Koehne said the project is continuing. "We're still allowed to work in certain areas, areas where we have not yet found any remains," he said.

At this point Koehne said it is unknown if the discovery of the remains will delay the conclusion of the gym project or whether it will add to the nearly $10 million price tag of the construction.

Koehne said they do know that because the remains were found on district property, it is up to them to pay the costs associated with the removal process, an amount estimated at $25,000.

Both Galvan and school district officials remind residents that the site is closed to the public both as a sign of respect for the dead and for public safety. Individuals are not allowed on the dig site.

Those looking for more information on the Bay Miwok tribe and their history in the San Ramon Valley can visit the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. An exhibit on the Bay Miwok will run from October-November.

Training 'Most Likely Descendants' for the future

Taking part in the excavation and relocation of the dozens of Bay Miwok remains found at San Ramon Valley High School is an exercise in archaeology and local history. But for some it's a lesson from their shared cultural heritage and a step in the process to being a part of it.

Andrew Galvan has spent decades serving as a spokesman for the local Native American tribes, as well as the designated Most Likely Descendant, a job in which he assists in the preservation and relocation of Native American remains.

Now he has begun the process of passing on to others the history he learned from his ancestors. Joining Galvan at the dig site at the high school were his great-nephew James Irwin and Vincent Medina, a cousin.

"The two of them I'm hoping are the next generation. Not just in the field with the skeletal remains, but the knowledge I can share. The traditional knowledge, all the things I've learned over the years," Galvan said.

Both young men are studying anthropology, Irwin, 21, at the University of Nevada Reno, and Medina, 22, at Berkeley City College. Irwin began studying his heritage early, as he would often go to dig sites with "Uncle Andy" and his mother, Desiree Irwin, who worked as a field tech for her uncle.

Medina said that while he did not have the same intensive background training as Irwin, the desire to learn about their ancestry grew in him through high school. "I've always known this part of my identity but it made me wonder more about it, so I went and talked to Andy," he recounted.

Irwin and Medina were friends at Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo and midway through they learned that they were related, sharing a common great-great-great-grandmother. Irwin said that having that knowledge of their history gives him a greater sense of place.

"It's interesting knowing that they can trace our family history back to the 1700s, knowing that I come from something back that far," he said. "Going from being friends to being distant relatives was just really intense."

Galvan said he has taken the two young men under his wing, apprenticing them in the heritage and history of their people and the duties they have to their people, both living and dead.

"My goal is to teach them. Teach them the stories I've been told. Pass on the knowledge I have to the next generation so it doesn't get lost when I die," Galvan said.

Added Medina, "That's how the flame stays alive for us."

Danville Weekly- August 4, 2009

GOOD BYE INDIAN BURIAL MOUNDS, HELLO SAM'S CLUB

A backhoe removes dirt atop a stone mound created by Native Americans 1,500 years ago in what is now Oxford, Ala. (AP Photo/Stephen Gross, The Anniston Star)

Goodbye Indian Mounds, Hello Sam’s Club

July 10, 2009

By Dan Whisenhunt for The Anniston Star via the Associated Press

OXFORD, Ala. (AP)—A stone mound on a hill behind the Oxford Exchange created by American Indians 1,500 years ago will soon disappear.

And whether Oxford's taxpayers wanted it or not, they paid for its destruction.
Workers hired by the city's Commercial Development Authority (CDA) are using the dirt from the hill as fill for a new Sam's Club. The project has angered American Indians who, along with a Jacksonville State University archaeology professor, say the site could contain human remains.

Oxford Mayor Leon Smith and City Project Manager Fred Denney say it was used to send smoke signals.

The city's CDA uses taxpayer money and assets to lure commercial businesses. The $2.6 million no-bid CDA contract for preparing the Sam's site went to Oxford-based Taylor Corp. That money came from the sale of city property to Georgia-based developers Abernathy and Timberlake and from additional money provided by the city.

In Alabama, CDAs are exempt from bid laws, meaning contracts can go to whichever company the board chooses. Oxford's CDA board and its actions have multiple connections to Smith's political fundraising:

• At least three board members or their employers have contributed to his political campaigns.

• Taylor Corp., under the ownership of Tommy Taylor, has received thousands of dollars in city contracts for non-CDA work. Taylor donated $1,000 to Smith in 2004 and $1,000 in 2008.

• Abernathy and Timberlake donated $1,000 to Smith's re-election campaign in 2004.

• Montgomery-based Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood donated $500 to Smith in 2004. The CDA gave the company engineering contracts for the exchange. Denney said the CDA paid the company $45,000 for engineering work, part of which paid for a University of Alabama study on the American Indian site.

Eligible for National Register of Historic Places?

The Anniston Star newspaper has so far been unable to obtain a copy of the University of Alabama study, but a letter from the Alabama Historical Commission's deputy state historic preservation officer indicated the university did not think the site was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The state Historic Preservation Commission did think the site was eligible for the National Register.

City Project Manager Denney said the report's authors found little at the site. Mayor Smith has said there is nothing wrong with the connections between himself and the CDA. He has described Taylor as a, "good friend."

Attempts to reach representatives for Taylor Corp. and Abernathy and Timberlake on Monday were unsuccessful. The Birmingham office of Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood declined comment.

CDA members contacted by The Star declined comment, referring questions to board chairman Dwight Rice. Attempts to reach Rice on Monday also were unsuccessful.

Chervis Isom, a Birmingham attorney representing Abernathy and Timberlake, said the company isn't involved with the hill or the fill dirt.

"If the dirt were contaminated in some way we'd certainly have an interest in that," Isom said. "Where the CDA got the dirt I'm not sure. We don't have any control over that." He added he does not think there is any problem with the dirt.

Denney said workers will remove about one-third of the hill and cover it with grass. The city eventually will develop commercial business on what remains of the hill, he said.

A September 2008 proposal by Taylor Corp. describes the demolition in vague terms. "This item includes undercutting two building pad footprints ..." the report reads. "The City has agreed to let us spoil the undercut material on their property across the new bridge."

Denney said the line in the proposal refers to the hill. "The agreement was we'd furnish the soil," Denney said. "The city would furnish them a place to get it."

The City Council transferred the property containing the hill to the CDA in February. Councilwoman June Land Reaves, who voted against the transfer, said she did not understand the hill property was a part of it.

"I never heard any discussion about dirt being taken from the hillside or a reason why that was being done, but it seems to me like a lot of cities capitalize on the history they have ... but (we do not seem) to do that," she said.

Too Late for City Council Intervention

Council President Chris Spurlin said it's too late for the City Council to intervene at the site. He said he hated the bad publicity, but said there is no proof the site holds human remains.

"The CDA has the authority," Spurlin said. "They're trying to do what's best for the city. I don't see no reason in buying fill dirt from someone when we have that hill available."

In a follow-up story, The Anniston Star later reported:

OXFORD, Ala. (AP)—City officials have ignored another protest over the city's decision to destroy a stone mound on a hill behind the Oxford Exchange created by American Indians 1,500 years ago.

Tony Castaneda, of Anniston, and Sharon Jackson, of Fruithurst, who say they are Indian elders, presented Mayor Leon Smith with a petition Monday containing more than 600 signatures of people opposed to the site's destruction. The Anniston Star reported Tuesday Smith became agitated when the two arrived at City Hall, took the petition and went back inside.

Castaneda and Jackson collected more signatures at City Hall that evening. The state Historical Commission says the mound is the largest of its kind in Alabama. The city paid to have part of the hill taken down for fill at a Sam's Club.

Dan Whisenhunt is a reporter at The Anniston (Ala.) Star. This story was distributed by the Associated Press. (reznetnews.org)

CALIFORNIA LAW -INDIAN GRAVE AND SACRED SITES PROTECTION!! LET'S STOP THE CORPORATE GRAVE ROBBERS!!

Greetings Cousins,

From California to my ancestral homeland of Kentucky, our NATIVE SACRED SITES ARE BEING ECO-RAPED!! You will notice a photo at the top of the blogspot of a Cherokee burial mound destroyed to build a Wal-Mart big box store in the Southeast. Look above and you will again see a illustration of what is under the mound...MY ANCESTORS!

Again note the WHITE GRAVE-ROBBERS ARE FROM THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY,claiming in the name of White science validates their reasons again to destroy the sleep of MY ANCESTORS!

The story goes on the Native struggle to protect our Sacred sites against the mainstream culture that is hell bent on destroying what remains of our Sacred sites and Holy Places here in Indian Country.

From Vallejo,California- Vallejo Inter-Tribal Council is seeking the halt and destruction of a 4,000 year shellmound burial site to be converted by the City of Vallejo Park district into a recreational park.

There are over 475 remaining shellmounds from the Sacramento Valley to both the San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. All under siege from more commercial and housing developments. White corporations know what lay under the land, and they could care less about California Native Sacred sites and Holy places.

Some Native leaders have actually been paid off here in California by corporate developers to actually SELL their own Sacred sites and Holy places for development.


Well Cousins, it is time for us as Native People to get our act together! We are going to have to hit and hit hard!

The first thing to do is is to start to impose economic boycotts and sanctions on white corporations like Wal-Mart and city's like Vallejo, California.

The State of California has some of the most strong and powerful rules and regulations to enforcing the preservation and protection of Native Sacred Sites and Holy places anywhere in the United States.

I have gone ahead to supply ALL State of California Law that can be used AS a legal stragety to ENFORCE the preservation and protection of our remaining Sacred sites and Holy places in California.

If you look below the newsprint story written by Chet Barfield on these issues, you find all of the laws for your review.

Let's put an end to thes white corporate grave robbers and destroyers of Native Sacred Sites and Holy places once and for all!

Yours in the Struggle for more Human and Civil Rights in Indian Country,

Mike (Ali) Raccoon Eyes Kinney
Editor- Teaching the Values of Peace

http://www.teachingthevaluesofpeace.blogspot.com





The Law and American Indian Grave Protection
California Laws

When contacted concerning California's burial ground laws, Dwight Dutschke responded for the California state archaeologist referring specifically to California's Public Resources Code Secion 5097.9. Follow the link for text.

Summaries follow of burial/archaeological laws yielded through a keyword search for "archaeology" and "burial" on 2001 March 30 at the State Historic Preservation Legislation Database found at the NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) web site, that database then updated through 1999. These summaries are reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law which may be found at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

Ibsgwatch.org is not responsible for any inaccuracies or timeliness of information.



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New state law will speed up repatriation of ancestral remains
By Chet Barfield
STAFF WRITER (Note: Sorry, I don't know for what paper)
October 21, 2001

BARONA INDIAN RESERVATION -- It's just a small cardboard box, this package received earlier this month from the University of California Berkeley.

It holds roughly 5 pounds of what used to be considered research material.

But Barona Tribal Councilman Steve Banegas and other American Indians see it differently. To them, it is the coffin of a long-lost ancestor. The ashes and bone chips inside are not objects to be studied, stored or displayed; they are the remnants of a person to be reburied with dignity and respect.

"We believe there's a spirituality attached to these remains," Banegas said. "They're very much a part of us, our extended families."

Banegas heads a committee for 12 Kumeyaay bands that has been working since 1997 to get human remains and sacred artifacts returned from colleges and museums under a 1990 federal law.

Now their task in California is getting a big boost from a new state law.

The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, passed by the Legislature last month and signed by Gov. Davis last Sunday, gives California tribes new muscle they lacked under the federal law.

Repatriations under the federal process were moving much too slowly and in some cases not at all, said the bill's author, Assemblyman Darrel Steinberg, D-Sacramento. He said he saw firsthand the human remains and artifacts sitting in warehouses.

"Just look at our history in terms of Native Americans," he said, "and you know we have to do better to return to them what is rightfully theirs."

Banegas said he and many others consider the way Indian remains were dug up for study throughout most of the 20th century to be grave robbing. He said the new law gives the tribes more leverage to get the items back.

"In the past, when we've dealt with these institutions, they seem to think it's a matter of ownership," he said. "What we're saying is no, it's a matter of responsibility. We're responsible to rebury this stuff, to take care of it."

The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, covers colleges, museums and other institutions receiving public funding. It requires them to complete inventories of human remains and culturally important objects by January 2003, then notify and return those items to the appropriate tribal groups.

That was supposed to be happening already under the federal law. The difference this time is a built-in enforcement mechanism, with fines for noncompliance.

The law establishes a 10-member oversight commission reporting to the state attorney general. Seven members will be American Indians from throughout the state; three will represent museums, universities and state agencies.

Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law.

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Code Book: California Water Code
Citation: §234
Section Title: Investigation, excavation and preservation of historic or prehistoric ruins Summary:
Authorizes the Department of Water Resources to investigate, excavate, and preserve any historic or prehistoric ruin or monument, or any object of antiquity, situated in areas to be used for state water development purposes.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Permit / Site Investigation Authority

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Code Book: California Penal Code
Citation: §622 ½
Section Title: Objects of archeological or historical interest
Summary:

Establishes as a misdemeanor the willful injury, disfiguration, defacement, or destruction of any object or thing of archeological or historical interest or value, whether situated on private or public lands.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Violation / Penalty / Enforcement

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Code Book: California Penal Code
Citation: §623
Section Title: Caves
Summary:

(a)(2) Establishes as a misdemeanor the disturbing or alteration of any archeological evidence in any cave without the written permission of the owner of the cave, punishable by up to one year in the county jail or a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Cave Activity
Violation / Penalty / Enforcement

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5020.5
Section Title: Historical resources: archeological sites and specimens
Summary:

Directs the State Historical Resources Commission to develop criteria and methods for determining the significance of archeological sites, for selecting the most significant sites, and for determining whether the most significant sites should be preserved intact or excavated and interpreted. Directs the commission to develop guidelines for the reasonable and feasible collection, storage, and display of archeological specimens.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Criteria for Evaluation of Sites
Curation / Ownership of Artifacts

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5097.1 through § 5097.6
Section Title: Archeological, paleontological, and historical sites
Summary:

Requires state agencies proposing any major public works project on state lands to submit general plans for the project to the Department of Parks and Recreation prior to commencement of construction. Allows the Department of Parks and Recreation to conduct archeological site surveys on the affected state lands in order to determine whether such lands may contain any historic or prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, paleontological sites, rock art, or any other archeological, paleontological, or historical feature. Allows the state agency constructing the public works on state lands to undertake surveys, excavation, or other operations on the state lands, or to contract with the Department of Parks and Recreation to do so, as it determines to be necessary to preserve or record any archeological, paleontological, or historical features. Prohibits any archeological program conducted by the Department of Parks and Recreation from impairing, impeding, or delaying any state construction project. Prohibits the removal, destruction, or defacement of any archeological, historical, or paleontological feature situated on public lands, except with the express permission of the public agency having jurisdiction over the lands.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Permit / Site Investigation Authority

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5097.91 through § 5097.94
Section Title: Native American historical, cultural and sacred sites: Native American Heritage Commission
View the text of 5097.91 at this Bkoatohee hosted page.
Summary:

Creates the nine-member Native American Heritage Commission appointed by the governor and directs that at least five members shall be elders, traditional people, or spiritual leaders of California Native American tribes. Directs the commission to identify and catalog places of special religious or social significance to Native Americans, and known graves and cemeteries of Native Americans on private lands, and to perform other duties regarding the preservation and accessibility of sacred sites and burials and the disposition of Native American human remains and burial items.


Primary Topic: Ethnic / Racial Historic Preservation Issues


Secondary Topic:
Native American Burial and Other Preservation Issues
Primary Topic: State Agencies / Institutions

Secondary Topic:
Native American / Indian Affairs Commission / Office / Board

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5097.95
Section Title: Native American historical, cultural and sacred sites: cooperation of agencies with Native American Heritage Commission
Summary:

Directs all state and local agencies to cooperate with the Native American Heritage Commission, including the transmittal of copies of appropriate sections of all environmental impact reports relating to property identified by the commission as of special religious significance to Native Americans, or which is reasonably foreseeable as such property.


Primary Topic: Ethnic / Racial Historic Preservation Issues


Secondary Topic:
Native American Burial and Other Preservation Issues

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5097.96
Section Title: Native American historical, cultural and sacred sites: inventory of sacred places
Summary:

Authorizes the Native American Heritage Commission to prepare an inventory of sacred places located on public lands and to review the administrative and statutory protections accorded to such places. Directs the commission to submit a report to the Legislature recommending actions as the commission deems necessary to preserve such sacred places and to protect the free exercise of Native American religions.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Survey / Inventory of Sites

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5097.97
Section Title: Native American historical, cultural and sacred sites: investigations; legal actions
Summary:

Enables the Native American Heritage Commission to investigate the effect of proposed actions by a public agency if such action may cause severe or irreparable damage to a Native American sanctified cemetery, place of worship, religious or ceremonial site, or sacred shrine located on public property, or may bar appropriate access thereto by Native Americans. Authorizes the commission to recommend mitigation measures for consideration by the agency if the commission finds, after a public hearing, that the proposed action would result in such damage or interference. Allows the commission to ask the attorney general to take appropriate action if the agency fails to accept the mitigation measures.


Primary Topic: Ethnic / Racial Historic Preservation Issues


Secondary Topic:
Native American Burial and Other Preservation Issues
Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5097.98
Section Title: Native American historical, cultural and sacred sites: notification of discovery of Native American human remains
Summary:

Requires the Native American Heritage Commission, upon notification by a county coroner, to notify the most likely descendants regarding the discovery of Native American human remains. Enables the descendants, within 24 hours of notification by the commission, to inspect the site of the discovery of Native American human remains and to recommend to the landowner or the person responsible for the excavation work means for treating or disposing, with appropriate dignity, the human remains and any associated grave goods. Requires the owner of the land upon which Native American human remains were discovered, in the event that no descendant is identified, or the descendant fails to make a recommendation for disposition, or the land owner rejects the recommendation of the descendant, to reinter the remains and burial items with appropriate dignity on the property in a location not subject to further disturbance.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Disposition of Human Remains

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: § 5097.99
Section Title: Native American historical, cultural and sacred sites: obtaining or possessing Native American artifacts or human remains
Summary:

Prohibits acquisition or possession of Native American artifacts or human remains taken from a Native American grave or cairn after January 1, 1984, except in accordance with an agreement reached with the Native American Heritage Commission.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Disposition of Human Remains
Violation / Penalty / Enforcement

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Code Book: California Government Code
Citation: § 6254
Section Title: Exemption of public records from disclosure
Summary:

(r) Exempts from disclosure public records of Native American graves, cemeteries, and sacred places maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission.


Primary Topic: Ethnic / Racial Historic Preservation Issues


Secondary Topic:
Native American Burial and Other Preservation Issues

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Code Book: California Health and Safety Code
Citation: § 7050.5
Section Title: Removal of human remains from location other than a dedicated cemetery
Summary:

(c) Requires a county coroner, in the event of the discovery of human remains in any location other than a dedicated cemetery, to contact the Native American Heritage Commission within 24 hours if the coroner determines that the remains are not subject to his or her authority and if the coroner recognizes the remains to be those of a Native American.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Disposition of Human Remains

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Code Book: California Government Code
Citation: §12600 through §12612
Section Title: Attorney General: environmental action
Summary:

Permits the attorney general to intervene in any judicial or administrative proceeding in which facts are alleged concerning pollution or adverse environmental effects that could affect the public generally. Authorizes the attorney general to maintain an action for equitable relief in the name of the people of the state against any person for the protection o f the natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment or destruction. Includes historic sites in the definition of natural resources. Allows a defendant in such an action to show, by way of an affirmative defense, that there is no more feasible and prudent alternative to the defendant's conduct, and that such conduct is consistent with the protection of the public, health, safety and welfare. Authorizes the court, in granting temporary or permanent equitable relief, to impose such conditions upon the defendant as are required to protect the natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment or destruction.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Violation / Penalty / Enforcement

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Code Book: California Public Resources Code
Citation: §21083.2
Section Title: California Environmental Quality Act: archeological resources
Summary:

Directs the lead agency on any project undertaken, assisted, or permitted by the state to include in its environmental impact report for the project a determination of the project's effect on unique archeological resources. Defines a unique archeological resource as one which contains information needed to answer an important scientific research question for which there is a demonstrable public interest; has a particular quality such as being the oldest or best example of a type; or is directly associated with a scientifically recognized important prehistoric or historic event or person. Enables the lead agency to require an applicant to make reasonable efforts to preserve any affected unique archeological resources in place or to undertake mitigation measures if such resources are not preserved in place. Requires the project applicant to guarantee to pay one-half the estimated cost of such mitigation and enables the lead agency to reduce any final mitigation measures to those which can be funded with the money guaranteed by the project applicant plus any money voluntarily guaranteed by any other persons within 60 days of the agency's decision. Restricts excavation as mitigation to those parts of the unique archeological resource that would be damaged or destroyed by the project. Sets specific limits on the amount that a project applicant may be required to pay for mitigation measures. Requires in most cases that the field excavation phase of a mitigation plan shall be completed within 90 days after final approval is given for the physical development of the project. Prohibits any part of this section from nullifying protections for Indian cemeteries under any other provision of law.


Primary Topic: Archeological Activities


Secondary Topic:
Permit / Site Investigation Authority

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