Native American cultural preservation.

Existing law establishes the Native American Heritage Commission and vests the commission with specified powers and duties. Existing law requires the commission to publish a document that lists the California Indian tribes as well as to consult in matters pertaining to repatriation under the act. The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 requires all agencies and museums that receive state funding and have possession or control over collections of California Native American human remains and associated funerary objects to inventory those remains and objects for repatriation to the appropriate California Indian tribes, as specified. The act requires those entities to complete an inventory and summary of those objects, as specified, and to provide the inventories and summaries to the commission. The act provides a process by which a California Indian tribe can request the return of human remains and cultural items. The act defines various terms, including "California Indian tribe" and "museum." The act defines "California Indian tribe" as a tribe that either meets the federal definition of Indian tribe or that is indigenous to California and is not reorganized by the federal government, is listed on the Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch Acknowledgment and Research petitioner list, and is determined by the commission to be a tribe that is eligible to participate in the repatriation process under the act. The act defines "museum" as an entity, including a higher educational institution, excluding school districts, that receives state funds. This bill would revise various definitions, including, among others, the definition of "California Indian tribe" to include both a tribe that meets the federal definition of Indian tribe and a tribe that is not recognized by the federal government, but that is a native tribe located in California that is on the list maintained by the commission; the definition of "museum" to specify it receives state funds; the definition of "preponderance of the evidence" to specify that tribal traditional knowledge alone may be sufficient to meet this standard; and the definition of "reasonable" to specify that tribal traditional knowledge can and should be used to establish reasonable conclusions with respect to determining cultural affiliation and identifying cultural items. This bill would revise and recast the process of creating the inventories and summaries by, among other things, requiring consultation with California Indian tribes during the creation of the preliminary inventories and summaries and after submission to the commission. The bill also would revise and recast the process by which a direct lineal descendent or a California Indian tribe can request the return of human remains or cultural items. The bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes. This bill would require every state agency, as defined, with significant interaction with tribal issues, peoples, or lands, and request the Regents of the University of California, to designate one or more liaisons for the purpose of engaging in consultation with California Native American tribes on the tribal contact list and educating the agency on topics relevant to the state's relationship with those tribes.