It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Neal Dean Ewald, age 70, on April 30, 2026, in Trinidad.

Born on May 20, 1955, in Santa Cruz, California, Neal lived each day with a spirit that was both gentle and vibrant, leaving a lasting mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him.

Neal had a remarkable way of making ordinary moments extraordinary — whether through a shared laugh, a thoughtful gesture, or the quiet strength he offered in times of need.

He was a graduate of Soquel High School, Class of 1973, earned a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978, and later received his Master of Business Administration from Humboldt State University in 1990.

Originally from Santa Cruz County, Neal moved to Arcata in 1978 to begin his distinguished career in forestry before settling in Trinidad, where he met his wife and started a family. His 45-year career in forestry encompassed every aspect of timber harvesting and management, culminating in his retirement in 2022 as Chief Operating Officer of Green Diamond Resource Company.

Neal dedicated much of his life to his profession, where his integrity, leadership, and dedication inspired those around him. Beyond his deep love for the forest and his many professional accomplishments, he found great joy in the ocean, becoming a certified diver and traveling the world with his family to premier diving destinations. These passions were more than hobbies; they were reflections of his adventurous spirit, generosity and profound appreciation for life.

Family was at the heart of everything Neal did. He cherished being a father and, most recently, a grandfather. He was deeply loved and will be profoundly missed by his son and daughter-in-law, Zachary and Emily (Tomchak) Ewald, and grandson Liam Ewald of Shoreline, Washington; his daughter and son-in-law, Annie (Ewald) Cappon and Kevin Cappon, and granddaughter Quinn Cappon of Santa Barbara; his sister and brother-in-law, Jo Ann (Ewald) and Jon Allen of Santa Cruz; and his long-time companion Polly Endert of Trinidad; along with numerous nieces, nephews, great-nephews and countless friends who became family. Each carries treasured memories of shared adventures, quiet moments, and unconditional love.

Neal was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Wendy Steinkamp Ewald, with whom he is now reunited in peace.

A memorial gathering will be held on June 20, 2026, at 2 in the afternoon at the Trinidad Town Hall, where stories will be shared, tears and laughter will mingle, and the beauty of Neal’s life will be celebrated.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to Hospice of Humboldt County, honoring the compassion and generosity that defined his life.

Though his time here feels far too brief, Neal’s light will continue to shine in the hearts of all who loved him, and the depth of his impact will be felt for generations to come.

Jean Marie Hague was born July 24, 1941 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to Jerome and Helen (Lepsch) Hundt. Jeanie had a younger brother, Stanley Hundt.

Jeanie and her family moved from La Crosse, after she finished kindergarten, to the Sun Valley neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. She attended Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, and graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1959. During high school, Jeanie had a host of babysitting gigs and often boasted about her famous clientele. She was proud to buy her first car with babysitting income.

Upon graduation, she was employed at a savings and loan, and a high-end department store in SoCal, proud that she “ran the place for years.”

From 1968-1969 she lived on a sailboat in the Caribbean. She often told grand tales of this time, living mostly off of canned goods — she didn’t really like fish. Her favorite memories of the sailboat adventures were the people she met along the way.

After years of boating adventures in tropical places, Jeanie landed back in Sun Valley. In the late 1970s, Jeanie rode with a friend in their VW bus to Humboldt County. They lived modestly in Trinidad, where Jeanie cleaned houses for wealthy families in the neighborhood, and she formed relationships that lasted a lifetime. 

Eventually, Jeanie started to work at Humboldt Coffee Shop in Eureka, during which she bought a home in Cooper Gulch (Eureka), which was in poor condition, but Jeanie had a million friends that pitched in and offered their skillsets to fix it up. She created an artsy abode that she cherished for years to come, often wanting to drive by long after selling the place.

Jeanie met Jack Hague at the coffee shop — their first “date” was a trip to Pierson Building Center for supplies. Jack made Jeanie feel like a queen and they were deeply in love. They were married in 1989 and moved to McKinleyville, into a brand new house that Jack had built overlooking the 10th hole of Beau Pre Golf Course. 

Jack and Jeanie often travelled to their home in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. This was Jeanie’s happiest place. She LOVED Mexico. The sun, the people, her neighbors, the food, the lifestyle, and the language. Friends often visited and spent time there. 

In 2011, Jack died at home, cared for in his final days by Jeanie. He was the love of her life, but she put one foot in front of the other and kept seeing the beauty in life. 

Jeanie was not one to sit idle. She belonged to a McKinleyville book club, where she met her best friend Fran Armstrong, a companion for life. They stayed true to a 5 p.m. telephone wine date, right up until the last few months. She proudly volunteered in the Emergency Department (where she developed a friendship with Jen Foesig) and Chemotherapy Clinic at St. Joseph Hospital, poured wine at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, and spent 35 years with Ink People. She never met a stranger!

An avid reader of books, magazines, and newspapers, Jeanie also painted with watercolors, stayed current with world events, loved to walk around the neighborhood, putter in her garden, hold conversations with an open mind, play cribbage with her “clubhouse friends” on Friday nights, and listen to her favorite band, Pink Floyd. JEANIE WAS THE LIFE OF THE PARTY! As she slowed, she loved to sit in her recliner by the window, watching the golfers and Turner Classic Movies. 

We are grateful for the care received by the staff at Providence St. Joseph Hospital, PACE, and Hospice of Humboldt. She had a beautiful view of redwood trees and the best care team at the Ida Emmerson Hospice House, where she passed into her next adventure on April 13th, 2026. 

Jeanie enjoyed many regular visitors, including Jesus Toscano-Medina, Monica Topping-Adams, Amy Pollock, Carrie Badeaux, Don and Kathy Miller and LB, Carol Palmer, Naomi Abbot, Jim and Diane Ravelli, Chad Regan, Jill Spriggs, and regular phone calls from Fran. Always a collector of the best people, Jeanie was the center of a constellation of people, many of whom only got to know each other because of her.

Jeanie is survived by sister-in-law Sue Hundt; Jack’s grandchildren, to whom she became “grandma,” Justin (daughter Brisha and Brisha’s mom Cata), Brandon, and Tanya Hague; niece and nephew Heather Hundt (Sean Goodchild) and Tim (Ana, daughters Chanel and Katrina) Hundt.

Jeanie loved Humboldt County, her friends and family and felt she had a wonderful life, until the final days.

A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, July 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Beau Pre Golf Course in McKinleyville. Per Jeanie’s request, we will wear black attire (to coordinate with her final outfit in her favorite color), and enjoy some of her favorite refreshments and Mexican food. There will be an opportunity to share stories.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite nonprofit, or consider a gift to Hospice of Humboldt or the Ink People in Jeanie’s memory.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jean Hague’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Mike passed away April 2026 peacefully in his recliner with his book on his lap in Eureka.

He was born in 1950 in Tacoma, Wash., then moved with his family to Cutten in 1954.

Mike was 76 years old.

He is survived by two daughters: Brandy (Alberto) and grandchildren Kianna, Kylie and Krista; Jennifer (Jeff) and grandchildren Dustin, Brittani and Charlie and great-granddaughter Lennox.

Mike was also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents Beverly and Edward Schmidt, and his great-granddaughter Natalia.

Mike was the fourth of seven children: Jo Anne Oliveira (Clarence), Bruce Heddinger (Margi), Diane Wolff (Steve), Carol, Edward Jr., Luanne (Matt) and half-brother James Heddinger (Lisa).

A 1968 graduate of Eureka High School, Mike played football, basketball and was the lead trumpet in the Logger Band. As a teenager he started pit crewing for his dad’s stock car at Redwood Acres, as well as Nyle Henderson and Dave Henderson later. He really enjoyed being in the pits and helped many race teams throughout the years.

Mike was very proud to serve his country. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1969, where he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. During the Vietnam War he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star.

He worked in several jobs as a mechanic and foreman. He advanced and then retired from Humboldt County Public Works Division after 30+ years. Mike also owned and operated Babe’s Pizza in Cutten.

Mike had a passion for hunting. Starting with bird hunting at Tule Lake/Lower Klamath as a boy and then deer hunting with his family. He also was a conservationist in the forest, as many would see him on his quad picking up discarded aluminum cans that others had left unattended.

As a very active member of Elks Lodge and the Moose Lodge, you would see him along with his brother and good friend Bruce, cooking crab for the fund-raising dinners. An example of this was with Boy Scout Troop 54 crab dinner that ensure the boys could attend summer camp.

He was always helping in the kitchen or wherever he was needed. He had a great sense of humor and helped “hold up the bar” with his friends. Mike was easy going, loved by many and will be missed

The family would like to thank his special friends Cheryl and Jan for their friendship and kind hearts.

Celebration of life will be held for Mike at the Elks Lodge on Saturday, October 24 at 2 p.m.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Eureka’s Lamplighter Inn Shuttered Indefinitely After Two Mysterious Deaths
• Police Say Excess Carbon Monoxide Levels Were Noted in Lamplighter Motel Deaths; Causes of Deaths Still ‘Pending Investigation’

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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the owners of Eureka’s shuttered Lamplighter Inn, where two people died in the same room five days apart.

The father of the second person, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning, is pursuing a lawsuit, which alleges the owners were negligent in their “reckless and inexcusable failure to provide even the most basic life-safety protections for guests,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit, first filed April 1 in Humboldt County’s Superior Court, points to the hotel’s lack of carbon monoxide detectors and the fact two motel guests died under shockingly similar circumstances just days apart.

Police responded to calls at the motel on the afternoons of Feb. 21 and Feb. 26.

In both cases, responding officers located two victims, one of whom was declared dead at the scene and one who was sent to the hospital for treatment.

The lawsuit names owners Harjinder and Surinder Heer as defendants, along with a group of unidentified people. It argues the property should not have remained open to the public after the first deaths, and alleges the defendants failed to remedy the condition to prevent further deaths.

Attempts to reach the Heers were unsuccessful. Calls to numbers associated with the pair listed online went unanswered or were no longer in service, including the now-closed motel.

As a result of what the lawsuit calls negligence, Humboldt County resident Samantha Hanna died while staying in the hotel. Her father’s attorney told the Outpost she was found with three times the lethal dose of carbon monoxide, the cause of her death.

The day she was found dead, fire personnel experienced mild symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure upon entering the room, according to Eureka Police Department.

The complaint cites health and safety codes that require carbon monoxide detectors, an alleged failure to inspect and repair the hotel, and failure to warn the victim of the dangerous condition.

It alleges the owners chose profits over the safety of their guests.

John Jon Davidi, trial attorney for Los Angeles-area personal injury law firm Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, said the situation should not have happened.

Particularly unique about this case, he said, is that the woman’s death followed another similar death just days before.

“This was a recurring problem that the owners of the property knew about and did nothing to remediate,” alleged Davidi.

He said hotel owners have a duty to people on the property to make sure they stay safe, particularly in preventing carbon monoxide poising, which he said is easily preventable.

Detectors for the odorless gas are mandatory in California hotel units with gas appliances. The hotel violated city code by failing to have working detectors, according to a March 3 notice from city officials.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and monetary penalty, according to legal documents.

Davidi added her father wants justice for his daughter, and for the people responsible for her death to be held responsible.

Next up, the defendants must answer the complaint.

Separately from this civil lawsuit, the Eureka Police Department continues to investigate the deaths, according to a spokesperson, who declined to comment further on the case.

According to the Humboldt County Coroner’s office, toxicity results for the first person who died have yet to come through. 

The motel has been shuttered since the second death on Feb. 26. Eureka city officials notified owners of a code violation related to working carbon monoxide detectors, according to a notice the Outpost obtained through a public records act request.

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PREVIOUSLY

• (UPDATING) Huge Fire in Downtown Arcata
• ‘We Would Love to Rebuild’: Northtown Books Owner Dante DiGenova Addresses Devastating Fire, Thanks the Community and Looks Toward Next Steps
• Investigation Finds No Evidence of Foul Play in January 2 Arcata Fire; Cause Remains Undetermined
• Insurance Investigators Initiate Inspection

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Press release from the City of Arcata:

Site cleanup is set to begin on the area affected by the Downtown Fire.

The demolition and removal of fire debris near the corner of 10th and H Street can now proceed following the recent release of the site to the property owners by insurance companies. This milestone allows cleanup and recovery activities to move into the next phase.

The City has been working closely with the property owners to identify a qualified contractor to complete the site cleanup and to help streamline the permitting process with the various regulatory agencies involved in the project.

The cleanup effort is particularly complex because the damaged structures and debris crossed multiple property lines during the fire event. As a result, all affected properties must be cleaned and managed together as a single coordinated project. The City appreciates the cooperation and diligence of the property owners who have worked collaboratively to move the project forward and complete the cleanup effort as one unified project. For a project such as this, it is typical to take approximately four weeks for the contractor to mobilize and approximately four weeks to complete the work depending on specific site conditions.

The selected contractor is expected to visit the site next week to review the site conditions, develop a detailed work plan and meet with permitting and regulatory agencies prior to mobilization. The City will share the project timeline with the public when it is available, so that community will know when the work will begin and when the project is expected to be completed.

Cleanup operations will involve the removal of fire-damaged materials and debris from the site and loading it on to trucks for disposal out of the area. When construction begins, community members should expect intermittent traffic disruptions in the downtown area during the work to accommodate truck loading, hauling activities and construction equipment operations. Traffic control measures will be implemented to help maintain public safety and minimize impacts whenever possible.

The City appreciates the patience and cooperation of the community, property owners and partner agencies as this work moves forward. Additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available. For immediate questions, please contact the City Manager’s Office at (707) 822-5953.

Humboldt Redwood Company’s request to change the way sediment pollution is regulated on the Elk River was shot down by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Thursday.

Board members pointed to a lack of data showing sediment conditions on the river improving. A motion to adopt the changes failed, with four board members voting “nay” and only Dale Romanini and Jake Mackenzie in support.

The changes surround Humboldt Redwood Company’s (HRC) Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR), the primary regulatory mechanism for controlling sediment pollution from logging in the watershed.

This rejection followed Water Board staff’s assurances the changes would not reduce water quality protections on the river, which has been heavily impacted by sediment from logging operations, historic and present, and has regulations a staff member said were the strongest in the state.

But environmental groups at the meeting swayed the board, saying instead the changes could increase sediment loads to the river, and argued the regulations should stay the same until marked improvement was recorded.

“It’s hard for me to imagine that increasing logging on 40% slopes, on any geology, would not bring down sediment,” said Board Member Hector Bedolla, speaking of one requested change.

HRC owns about 79% of the Upper Elk Watershed, according to Water Board documents. Under the 2019-era regulations, HRC can propose alternative practices, so long as they are equal or better than requirements in the original WDR. HRC sought a smattering of technical changes to the document.

Jim Burke, Water Board senior engineering geologist, said during a presentation the changes were found to be “reasonable and appropriate” by Water Board staff — who assured the board throughout the meeting they would not reduce water quality protections.

“This permit provides the strongest water quality protection of any permit in the state. The revisions preserve that high level of protection while better aligning the permit with real world operational conditions by allowing HRC flexibility in managing its forest while still complying with the [Total Maximum Daily Loads] targets,” said Burke.

Burke, who said he is regularly on the ground, said “observations of conditions on HRC timberlands in the Elk River by myself and my staff show minimal evidence of sediment discharge.”

But one environmental group took issue with specific changes.

Katy Gurin, a CalTrout project manager, said the changes “have the potential to increase erosion and sediment pollution by allowing more logging on steep slopes and near water courses.”

Katy Gurin, a CalTrout project manager, speaking during the meeting Thursday. “I want to see the river recover,” she said. Screenshot

The organization called for three items to be removed: one that would lower certain tree retention requirements, new allowances for logging on steeper slopes and a new allowance for group openings (removal of a patch of trees) near certain watercourses.

Several board members noted surprise after hearing CalTrout’s position on the topic — the organization is heavily involved with science and restoration in the watershed.

“I was taken back by your comments, and they’re in direct contradiction to what our staff is telling us,” said board member Gregory Giusti.

Other environmental groups, fishing advocates, the Blue Lake Rancheria and downstream residents whose properties flood every year spoke in opposition to the changes.

Nuisance flooding has continued since Maxxam Corporation-controlled PALCO moved to massively increase harvesting in the basin during the late 1980s and ‘90s, causing thousands of cubic feet of sediment to stick to the channels.

Flooding blocks the road and inundates properties along the Elk River during storms.

“We have not seen any improvement at all in either water quality or flooding,” said Kristi Wrigley, who lives on her family’s apple orchard, which was founded in 1903, on the north fork of the Elk River.

She said last year, they had seven or six floods, one of which was the highest flood they’d ever seen, and flooding has reduced usable land on the farm by two-thirds.

Jerry Martien, Elk River resident, said the regulations haven’t improved the river. He read a poem that ended with “we should be cutting lies, instead of trees.” Screenshot

Board members hesitated to agree to the changes after hearing CalTrout’s position, with multiple pointing to a lack of evidence showing a marked improvement.

Environmental organizations, including Arcata-based Environmental Protection Information Center, pointed to previous Water Board documents and argued the changes ran counter to regulatory goals.

Earlier in the meeting, during a general update on the Elk River, Water Board Engineer Lance Le gave a presentation on monitoring.

On suspended sediment from 2003-2025, three monitoring stations showed an improving trend, while four had no trend. Meanwhile, the severity of ill effects were largely staying the same, with one station showing improvements and another worsening. The analysis, based on HRC data, did not analyze nuisance flooding.

CalTrout’s Gurin, said, from her reading of the data, “There’s no improvement in suspended sediment at most stations, and there’s no improvement in the severity of ill effects at most stations,” and cast doubt on whether decades of regulatory work was effective.

Mike Miles, an HRC forester who spoke during the meeting on behalf of the company, said these data points showed instead a lack of sediment coming off of hill slopes into monitoring areas, saying instead the data pointed to a decline of erosion or a static condition.

He also pointed out water quality wasn’t being monitored in the 1980s or 1990s, when a mass of sediment that is still clogging channels was released.

“If we were to compare today’s water quality with water quality of the ‘90s, ‘80s and ‘70s, you would see a big difference; there’s no doubt about it in my mind,” he said.

During a presentation he pointed to numerous restoration projects the company has been involved in, plus protection measures like barring clear cutting and old growth logging, and leaving larger trees for habitat.

“It’s a different way of doing forestry,” he said, calling it progressive.

Later, he said it’s difficult to stand there after 100 years of forestry and try to represent the industry, “but that’s not how we’re managing our forest.” He emphasized that HRC is trying to be in the same boat as partners and called for board members to come out to see the land.

Some board members said the decision was tough.

Following assurances the body could revisit the regulations at any time, like if monitoring showed sedimentation getting worse, Mackenzie leaned towards adopting the changes.

He made a motion to move forward, with the removal of language that called Tan Oak a less desirable species (board member Molli Myers, a Karuk tribal member, pointed to the significance of the tree as a staple food source for local Indigenous groups).

But a straw poll vote found there wasn’t sufficient support.

Other board members said they wanted to see improvements in conditions before making changes. Chair Alexandra Hart remarked it felt like the board was “putting the cart before the horse.”

Board member Bedolla said he’d like to see the trends improve before expanding logging.

“I think that we should be talking about what’s going to make things better. It is our job to protect the water quality,” said Myers; she said if water quality is not improving the board should not be increasing logging activities.

Thus, with the non-vote, the requirements will stay the same. Board staff said HRC could propose changes at any time.

The Board’s legal counsel told them litigation could force a permit revision to come back before the board.

The full meeting, which includes an update on efforts of the water board in the basin at large, can be found at this link.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Upcoming Logging Permit Changes Could Mean More Sediment in Elk River, CalTrout Says

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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All but one Cal State campus have Native American remains and cultural items that federal and state laws require them to return to tribes. In many cases, the process has been slow.

Though the size of their collections varies, campuses like Cal Poly Humboldt and San Francisco State have made progress in returning human remains and cultural items, with Sacramento State having returned most of its Native collections. But others, like Cal Poly Pomona, have yet to see much progress and Cal State Bakersfield has not made any returns.

The Cal State system holds the remains of more than 2,000 Native Americans and more than 1.57 million artifacts, according to the most recent list of the system’s collections. Another 500,000 collections of items are still in storage awaiting proper tribal review to be cataloged.

Campus officials say they are working diligently to follow legal mandates to return items to tribes, but the road can be long and arduous.

Last February, members of the Konkow Valley Band of Maidu tribe reburied three ancestors whose remains had been held at Sacramento State since 1963. The Lake Concow Campground donated 10.7 acres of land to the tribe within their traditional territory in Northern California, where they were able to perform the reburials.

“During the process it’s a very, very heavy feeling,” said Matthew Williford Sr., the tribal chairperson and cultural resource director. “But when you receive the remains back, you feel lighter. It doesn’t feel like so much weight.”

If collections stay in storage, for Williford, it’s as if “nobody knows that we were ever around.”

“It’s important for us to get that back, because we believe that those items still have spirit,” he said. “They need to come back to the people.”

Federal and state Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation laws require agencies and institutions with Native American remains and cultural items, such as the ancestors’ remains from Williford’s tribe, be returned to tribes. While there was not a deadline for when collections had to be returned, federal law required campuses to complete an inventory of their collections by 1995.

“La Memoria de la Tierra,” a mural by Judith Baca on the north side of Ackerman Union at UCLA in Los Angeles, on Nov. 9, 2022. The mural spans about 80 feet and consists of three 26-foot-long glass panels. The middle panel depicts historical women, including Toypurina, a Tongva woman who opposed Spanish colonization in California in the late 1700s. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

As of February 2025, Sacramento State had repatriated 89% of the human remains and 68% of the cultural items on their campus. That means control of the collections has been legally transferred to a culturally affiliated tribe, but collections may remain physically held by the campus if requested by the tribe. The figure also does not include what the campus holds for other state or federal agencies.

“Some tribes want us to hold on to collections, in which case we might do a held trust agreement, where we just are saying, ‘We’re holding this for you until you’re ready to take it for repatriation,’” said Sarah Eckhardt, Sacramento State’s repatriation coordinator.

Eckhardt has been the repatriation coordinator for more than six years, overseeing the university’s compliance with repatriation laws and policies. Eckhardt shared that the campus has a good relationship with local tribes, to whom the majority of their collections belong, allowing them to repatriate the collections effectively.

The amount of cultural items at Sacramento State decreased significantly from about 30,000 in 2024 to about 6,000 in 2025.

Why it’s hard to return Native artifacts

To move forward with repatriation, universities have to contact potential culturally affiliated tribes, based on geographic location or historical evidence, for consultation. Then, tribes can submit a request for repatriation.

While the process can be slow, multiple tribal leaders said that the campuses are supportive and are up against federal and state rules that complicate returns for non-federally recognized tribes. There are also times of confusion over who exactly has authority to make those returns.

Sacramento State reported an increase in their collection of human remains from 171 in 2024 to 223 in 2025, which Eckhardt said was due to some confusion over who manages them.

“There were several collections that we thought were the responsibility of another agency, that they denied responsibility for and so we accepted responsibility for that,” said Eckhardt.

Near the end of 2024, 32 boxes containing three human remains and cultural items previously held at Sacramento State were returned to Williford’s state-recognized tribe. But since they are not federally-recognized, federal law meant they’d have to partner with a federal tribe to claim the collections on their behalf, and also have local tribes sign off on the handover, said Williford. That process took about six months after a notice was published to the federal registrar, which informs other tribes in case any want to rebut the claim. To him, that was a quick timeframe.

“At least they’re trying… I think they need to up their game on helping nonfederal tribes with federal repatriation,” said Williford.

San Jose State has run into a similar situation. The university has returned all the remains belonging to federally recognized tribes, but still possesses remains affiliated with non-federally recognized tribes, posing the biggest challenge, according to Alisha Marie Ragland, the campus’ repatriation coordinator. As of December 2025, San Jose State reported having 514 human remains and more than 5,000 collections of stored items waiting to be reviewed.

“SJSU will continue to work with tribes to find appropriate and respectful means of sending the Ancestors home,” said Ragland via email.

So, why do some campuses struggle to make returns under their care?

“Repatriation can take years. Just for what we consider one artifact potentially could take up to a couple years,” said David Silva, the repatriation coordinator at Cal State Bakersfield.

Cal State Bakersfield is still in the process of consulting with tribes to determine what the boxes under their care contain, he said.

“There’s no direct timeline for our tribal partners to have to conduct consultation,” said Silva. “The only timeline is really when we start to submit notices or when we complete that inventory verification.”

A sign displayed behind glass at California State University, Long Beach, on Dec. 14, 2023. The campus sits on Puvungna, the site of an ancient Tongva/Gabrielino village. The sign originally read, “Gabrielino Indians once inhabited this site, Puvungna, birthplace of Chungichnish, law-giver and God,” but the word “once” and the “-ed” in “inhabited” were removed so it now reads, “Gabrielino Indians inhabit this site,” reflecting that Tongva/Gabrielino people still live in the area. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

Curtis Alcantar is a member of the Tejon Indian tribe and a tribal representative for the NAGPRA committee at the Bakersfield campus, working with Silva. Alcantar said he has had a good experience working with the university and other Cal State campuses and that he believes the system is moving in a positive direction.

Before, Bakersfield housed items in five different rooms spread throughout campus, creating a hassle for tribal members. They recently moved to a new building on campus, allowing tribes easier access to review collections.

When he first started helping with tribal consultations, Alcantar was troubled by how many Native American remains and cultural items were still in possession of museums and universities. Universities acquired Native remains and items through excavations and research often from anthropology and archeology disciplines. Some collections were acquired through donations.At the time, it was difficult for him to understand how much Native American collections museums and universities still held and were refusing to give back, said Alcantar. But now, he says that people are more open minded and willing to repatriate.

The process does take a lot of research and time, he added. For him, the most helpful tool Cal State has provided is the campus collections map, making it easier to find which campuses have collections from Kern County, his home base. According to the map, eight different Cal State campuses have collections from Kern County and Cal State Bakersfield has collections from 18 California counties.“The fulfilling part for me is seeing the objects go back home, watching the ancestors just finally get their journey back home,” said Alcantar.

Cal Poly Humboldt has repatriated about 39% of the 23,889 cultural items initially in its possession, according to figures provided by Megan Watson, the campus’ NAGPRA coordinator. San Francisco State has repatriated roughly 36% of its original 44,000 collections of stored items, according to Robert King, the campus’ director of communications. The campus has about 250 remains, a number that hasn’t budged much in recent years. Since November, it has returned two remains with about 260 collections of items, the official said.

Cal State updates list of Native collections

Cal State’s updated list was released in December after, for the first time, all Cal State campuses completed an inventory review.

Sonoma State has more than 1.52 million cultural items, by far the highest count in the system. Meanwhile, Cal State Fullerton holds the most remains with 534 individuals counted, and San Diego State has the highest collections of stored items awaiting tribal review, totaling more than 426,000.

One reason for Sonoma State’s high count is that it has a large facility to house those collections under proper care, said Samantha Cypret, a member of the Mountain Maidu tribe and executive director of the office of tribal relations for the Cal State Chancellor’s Office, which oversees NAGPRA compliance. Campuses with large anthropology or archeology departments also tend to have larger collections, she added.

Multiple members of Sonoma State’s NAGPRA team were contacted for comment. Some declined an interview while others did not respond.

Cal State revamps how it returns remains — with some delays

In November 2025, Cal State launched a systemwide NAGPRA policy providing campuses with a consistent approach for repatriations. The move came in response to Assembly Bill 389 – a 2023 amendment to the 2001 state NAGPRA Act – and a critical Cal State audit. The assembly bill required the Chancellor’s Office to adopt a systemwide policy and committee, and that committees form at each campus.

Cypret said that the policy took time to enact after the audit was issued and the Assembly Bill passed because they wanted to make sure they were letting tribal voices take the lead, learning about what tribes wanted to see included in the policy.

“We also really wanted to make sure that we were centering tribal voices in the development, in the implementation of this policy, so we held over 30 tribal outreach sessions in about the year and a half that this policy took to create,” said Cypret.

The new system policy outlines responsibilities of each campus, such as employing a full-time repatriation coordinator, conducting ongoing surveys of holdings and forbidding the use of collections for teaching and research. Cal State allocated $3.7 million for campuses with Native American collections for the fiscal year 2025-2026 to support the costs of staffing repatriation coordinators, reburial costs, reimbursing tribes for travel costs, and other expenses related to repatriation.

The University of California system and community colleges also have Native American collections on their campuses. An audit of the University of California published in April 2025 determined that the system lacked urgency and accountability.

Williford said that his tribe has made formal requests to receive two woven baskets from UC Berkeley that are part of his tribe’s dogwood collection. For him, helping return collections for his tribe has helped him feel connected to his dad who passed away in 2015. He said his dad was part of a “lost generation” that knew who they were but didn’t have a lot of cultural information. But today, the tribe’s elders find meaning when returns are made.

“To see an elder’s eyes light up like a child’s, it’s something special,” said Williford.

Cal State will review its systemwide policy again in November 2026 after tribal consultations.

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Brittany Oceguera is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.