The Kumeyaay Cultural Repatriation Committee of the Kumeyaay Nation is suing the University of California to reclaim ancestors that were removed from the school's San Diego campus in 1976.

The ancestors date back 9,000 years and were found in an area known as a tribal burial ground. The school was prepared to return the remains earlier this year until some professors objected, claiming the remains aren't linked to the present-day Kumeyaay people.

“The human remains are Native American and the land from which they were removed is the aboriginal lands of the Kumeyaay,” the tribes say in their complaint, which was first reported by Courthouse News Service. “Under the Native American Graves Protection Act (NAGPRA) and its implementing regulations, the defendants are required to repatriate the human remains in its possession to KCRC.”

Get the Story:
UCSD Sued Over Human Remains (The UCSD Guardian 4/23)
Tribes Sue University for Human Remains (Courthouse News Service 4/17)
Native Americans Sue UCSD Over Human Remains (The San Diego Reader 4/17)