Description

When NAGPRA was enacted in 1990, it empowered tribes to reclaim their ancestors and cultural patrimony and sparked a movement toward Indigenous control of interpretation, though full tribal authority over these resources has largely remained unrealized. With California’s Assembly Bill 52 amending CEQA, tribes are now formally included in mitigation planning and cultural resource management—expanding recognized Tribal Cultural Resources beyond archaeological sites to encompass stories, landscapes, and sacred places—reshaping archaeology, tribal–archaeologist relationships, and stewardship practices.