Hundreds of human remains, burial objects to be returned to tribes, San Nicolas Island

After years of consultation and trips to museums, hundreds of human remains and burial objects removed from San Nicolas Island soon will be returned to California tribes.

For decades, those remains have been kept in museums and collections throughout the state after excavations that date back to the late 1800s. Over the past several years, the Navy, and tribal leaders have worked to bring them to one spot. 

The goal: a final trip to San Nicolas and reburial.

Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro described the repatriation process as allowing tribal communities to reclaim their ancestors and finally put them to rest.

“To us, they are our relations that deserve the dignity of being reinterred and cared for under tribal custom and tradition,” said Macarro, in a letter to then-Gov. Jerry Brown last year about the issue.

In 2015, the federal government published notice of a determination that the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians were culturally affiliated with San Nicolas Island, now Navy-owned. The island is about 65 miles off Ventura County.

Once the decision was made, the Navy would transfer the remains to the tribe.

When the notice was published, other tribes stepped forward, too. After a consultation process, the Navy began working with four federally recognized tribes.

The Pauma, Rincon and Pechanga bands of Luiseño, as well as the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash were all deemed to be culturally affiliated with the island, officials said.

“Tribes and Navy representatives these past six months or so have been going to the different museums,” said Navy archaeologist Susan Lynn White.

After consolidating the inventory, she said, it will be repatriated to the tribes and transported to the island for reburial.

MORE:Tuqan Man, human remains buried 10,000 years ago, found on islands

Tribes stepped forward

In 1990, the federal Native American Graves and Repatriation Act established the rights of tribes and their descendants to control what happens to human remains and other sacred objects.

The law required agencies to make determinations whether human remains were Native American, and if so, whether they could be transferred to a tribe.

Last year, efforts to repatriate other human remains led to a reburial on San Miguel Island, another of the Channel Islands. San Miguel, also owned by the Navy, is part of Channel Islands National Park.

In 2005, researchers spotted bone visible through dirt and old seashells in an area they had previously found signs that people had lived or camped more than 9,600 years ago.

Typically, human remains would be covered up and left alone, officials said at the time. But these were at risk of being lost to erosion and potentially were among some of the earliest human remains in North America at the time.

The National Park Service took the information to a Chumash tribe with close ties to the northern Channel Islands, including San Miguel. Ultimately, the Chumash agreed the remains called Tuqan Man would be excavated and some study could happen. 

While the process took much longer than the groups thought, the park service transferred custody of the remains to the Chumash last year.

The Tuqan Man was reburied last May.

MORE:Researchers uncover new twist in 165-year-old story of Lone Woman’s life

Return to San Nicolas

The Navy began working with the Pechanga after tribal leaders wrote letters about concerns in 2012.

In 2015, when the Navy published notice of the cultural affiliation, officials described the inventory of remains as representing, at minimum, 469 individuals and the 436 burial items. Those numbers were corrected after working with various organizations.

A 2018 notice said the inventory included remains from 548 people and more than 1,000 burial objects such as abalone shell pendants and a bone fish hook.

They were kept in eight locations throughout the state, from the San Diego Museum of Man to the Hearst Museum of Anthropology of UC Berkeley.

According to records, the Navy said the remains had been collected from the island as early as the late 1800s and as late as just 10 or so years ago. In many cases, they were then donated to universities or museums.

By last month, most had been taken to a facility at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, where they will temporarily be stored in a facility until they are returned to the island. Items still on the island remained in a facility there.

Macarro said the final trip back to San Nicolas will happen after all clearances have been OK’d.

“The Navy takes (this) very seriously not only to be good stewards but to be good partners,” said Navy spokeswoman Theresa Miller.

Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.

Support local journalism for exclusive, watchdog coverage of climate issues impacting Ventura County. Get a digital subscription to The Star.