Dear UCSF Community,

The UC Office of the President (UCOP) issued the Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation Interim Policy on July 24, 2020 to clarify the process by which all UC campuses will implement the Federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California NAGPRA (CalNAGPRA). NAGPRA protects Native American graves and requires repatriation of Native American human remains and certain cultural items. Repatriation is the process of returning Native American ancestral human remains and certain cultural items to their indigenous communities. UCSF is fully committed to the goal of repatriation as well as implementation of this policy and relevant laws. The Interim Policy substantially revised the previous policy to promote the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items, and to increase accountability and transparency across all UC campuses.

I write to raise awareness of new policy requirements, affirm the University’s commitment to the guiding principles and procedures, provide mechanisms to report if you believe you or others may hold Native American or Native Hawaiian human remains or cultural items, and enlist your assistance ensuring full compliance with this important human rights policy. In particular, I want to draw your attention to the following significant elements of the new policy, which:

• Articulates principles that the repatriation...