Systemwide Repatriation Goals & Metrics

Overview

As recommended in California State Audit Report 2024-047 (PDF), the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) has established systemwide performance goals and associated metrics for key repatriation activities.

Goal 1

By December 2028, complete and submit all NAGPRA Inventories of Native American Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects under UC control, unless otherwise requested by Tribes.

Progress on this goal will be measured by the percentage of Native American Human Remains submitted to the Federal Register for publication in a Notice of Inventory Completion (NIC). This can be tracked using the UC Repatriation Dashboard, which is updated every 6 months.

As of April 2026, UC has published NICs for 81.0% of Native American Human Remains held systemwide.

Goal 2

By December 2028, accelerate readiness to consult on all NAGPRA Summaries under UC control and increase proactive outreach to all Tribes.

Accelerating readiness to consult will be tracked using campus progress on projects that are specific to the current status of documentation at their campus, for example obtaining site records, digitizing documents, hiring archivists, or creating mapping or database tools to support tribal access to information.

Increased proactive outreach to tribes will be measured by the percentage of NAGPRA Inventories and Summaries that have been sent to tribes to invite or re-invite consultation.

In February 2026, campuses submitted revised repatriation implementation plans describing their preparations to consult and plans to invite or re-invite consultation. Campuses will report on these activities on a quarterly basis.

Goal 3

By June 2026, review all areas of UC campuses with the highest probability of housing undiscovered Native American Human Remains and potential Cultural Items.

In July 2025, all UC campuses created detailed schedules to visit and physically review high-risk areas of campuses. Campuses are reporting progress on a quarterly basis.

As of December 2025, UC campuses have conducted in-person reviews of 35 high-risk departments.