The Kumeyaay Cultural Repatriation Committee (KCRC) was created in 1997 to aid the San Diego area Kumeyaay bands in the repatriation of their ancestors' human remains, tribal artifacts and cultural objects of a patrimony heritage.

The Kumeyaay Cultural Repatriation Committee hopes to repatriate the human bones of their tribal members from institutions and museums for burial.

KUMEYAAY REPATRIATION NEWS Blog:

Kumeyaay Tribes Sue University for Human Remains

Courthouse News Service, April 17 2012

SAN DIEGO (CN) - Twelve Indian tribes, known as the Kumeyaay, sued The University of California in Federal Court, seeking repatriation of 9,000-year-old human remains excavated from the school's San Diego campus in 1976

The Kumeyaay Cultural Repatriation Committee, which consists of 12 tribes in San Diego County, claims the University violated Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act by keeping the two human remains.

Named as defendants are The University of California, The Board of Regent of the University, University of California president Mark G. Yudof, Chancellor Marye Ann Fox, and Vice Chancellor Gary Matthews.

Jeffrey Gattas, a spokesman for UC San Diego, told Courthouse News that while it had not seen the lawsuit, "the campus has followed University of California procedures in seeking to address the treatment of the human remains and artifacts found on campus property in 1976."

Gattas told Courthouse News in an email: "Developed in response to federal regulations, UC's detailed procedures included review by University faculty committees at both the campus and UC system levels. We believe the University process has achieved a decision that is in accordance with both the law and our commitment to the respectful handling of human remains and associated artifacts."

But the tribes' complaint states: "In 1976 while excavating from the oceanside cliffs of La Jolla, California, two human remains were unearthed. Radiocarbon dating yields an age for the remains to be between 8,977-9,603 years old. The archaeological site from where the remains were removed is identified as CA-SDI-4669 aka W-12-76. The excavating was conducted as part of an undergraduate class that was engaged in an archaeological field research project on the University House (aka the University of California, San Diego, Chancellor's House.) The area of the excavation was well known to be rich with Native American burials and artifacts and several years ago was designated as a sanctified cemetery under California state law... COMPLETE NEWS ARTICLE courthousenews.com.

Professors sue to stop ancient bones transfer

Associated Press, April 25, 2012

SAN DIEGO — Two skeletons that rested undisturbed on a San Diego cliff top for nearly 10,000 years are at the center of a modern court battle.

The University of California, San Diego, had intended to transfer the skeletons of a man and woman to an American Indian tribe for traditional burial. But lawsuits are complicating the plan.

The bones were discovered in 1976 during an excavation at University House, the traditional La Jolla home of the UC San Diego chancellor. The university was preparing to hand over the bones to the local Kumeyaay tribe when three UC professors filed a lawsuit Monday in Northern California to block the transfer.

Margaret Schoeninger of UC San Diego, Robert Bettinger of UC Davis and Timothy White of UC Berkeley argued that the bones were precious research objects and there was no evidence they are related to the Kumeyaay... COMPLETE NEWS ARTICLE www.utsandiego.com.

Right map highlights the Kumeyaay ancestral territory in gray prior to European immigration — the dots on the modern left map show present-day locations of the 13 small Kumeyaay Indian reservations in the United States, and four Kumiai Indio tribal community ranches in Baja California, Mexico, at the turn of the 21st century.

KUMEYAAY HISTORY TIMELINE history essay and facts sheets for more in-depth historical analysis of the Kumeyaay of Southern California....

KUMEYAAY GUIDE Kumeyaay tribal directory in San Diego County and Baja California Norte, Mexico, includes official websites, contact info, maps, casinos, multimedia.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, National Park Service, Notice of Inventory Completion: San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 68 FR 42757 - NOTICE OF INVENTORY COMPLETION: SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN DIEGO, CA (PDF).

EARLY CREMATION CEREMONIES OF THE LUISENO AND DIEGUENO INDIANS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (PDF DOWNLOAD) by Edward H. Davis, New York Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation 1921 (Smithsonian Institute Library book).

KUMEYAAY SOVEREIGNTY GUIDE — California aboriginal tribes like the Kumeyaay practiced their own forms of tribal government in what is known today as America and Mexico for thousands of years prior to European intrusion and the formation of the United States government.

50 Frequently Asked Questions about American Indian tribes — "American Indian or Native American?" | "Tribe or Band?" | "Who is an American Indian?" | "What is Indian Country?" | "What is trust land?" | "What is sovereign immunity?"...

ONLY THE BEST INSPIRATIONAL QUOTATIONS
American tribal and world wisdom...

With some 19 federally-recognized Indian reservations, the County of San Diego has more Native American Indian reservations than any other county in the United States.

In California, there are approximately 109 federally-recognized American Indian tribal bands — that's more distinct tribes than in any other state.

THE FOUR TRIBAL GROUPS native to the County of San Diego include:

CAHUILLA, CUPENO, LUISENO, and KUMEYAAY (aka Iipay-Tipay-Diegueño).
Tribal information academically presented by FOUR DIRECTIONS INSTITUTE www.fourdir.com
Also visit the KUMEYAAY.INFO KUMEYAAY RESEARCH and CALIFORNIA INDIAN RESEARCH portals.
See our KUMEYAAY GUIDE for a list of the Kumeyaay reservations.
See our KUMEYAAY TIMELINE.

FOR A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE about California Indian tribal history, please review these trusted research articles:

GENOCIDE | ASSIMILATION | RELOCATION | INDIAN COUNTRY DIARIES