Department Statements

• Statement on the UCR Radiocarbon Laboratory

  The faculty of the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside are appalled and strongly condemn past practices by the UCR Radiocarbon Laboratory regarding the approach to and handling of Native American human remains and cultural items. Current members of the Department are committed to collaborative engagement with Indigenous and descendant communities; engagement that is based on respect, transparency, and continuous conversation for the furtherance of accountability. The knowledge that a former and late member of the Department not only opposed but continued to oppose the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is reprehensible. The more recent discovery that this faculty member intentionally kept Native American remains and cultural items hidden from the University so that they could not be repatriated is simply shocking. The Department recognizes the deep and grievous harm these actions have caused and acknowledges NAGPRA as a critical piece of legislation, along with CalNAGPRA. We fully support the rights of Native Americans with respect to the treatment, repatriation, and disposition of Native American human remains, funerary objects, and sacred objects as part of their cultural patrimony. We do not tolerate such past practices and will do all in our power to engage in reparations with Indigenous representatives and communities, including and exceeding repatriation of human remains, and a thorough reexamination of all our curation practices. Practices stemming from colonial and genocidal legacies that still plague the discipline, have no place in Anthropology.

• Statement on Anti-Asian Violence

  UCR Anthropology unequivocally condemns the murderous, racist, and misogynistic acts in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, the recent upsurge in anti-Asian violence across the USA and elsewhere, and the discourses of scapegoating and blame that have circulated during the COVID-19 pandemic.  We are appalled by the prevalence of violence targeting Asian women in particular ( https://socialinnovation.ucr.edu/news/2021/03/16/there-were-3800-anti-asian-racist-incidents-mostly-against-women-past-year ).  As a department, we stand with the Asian/American and Pacific Islander members among our faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff, and research collaborators, and pledge to recognize, speak out, and fight back against anti-Asian racism wherever we encounter it. We also endorse the statement by UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox of February 19 ( https://insideucr.ucr.edu/announcements/2021/02/19/violence-against-asianamerican-and-pacific-islander-community ), even as we are saddened, horrified and enraged by events since then.  With the campus as a whole, we affirm the Chancellor’s statement of solidarity:

  We pledge our full solidarity with the Asian/American and Pacific Islander community on campus and beyond and support the efforts by student organizations; our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office; and faculty and staff to address violence and discrimination against Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders.
  
  We also recommend these Community Resources on Anti-Asian Violence, compiled and shared with us by the UCRFTP Cops Off Campus Collective: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J7QeqRJrcBj1ovXaOLXI8ip4qvmY_iywIaE-9-jL49s/edit?ts=6054ced8#

• Statements on Policing and Anti-Black Racism
  • May 2021 Updated Statement to the University of California, Riverside Leadership and Community
  • UCR Anthropology Statement on October 1 Teach-In Against Anti-Blackness
  • July 2020 Statement to the University of California, Riverside Leadership and Community
  • Department Response to Unethical Possession and Handling of the Remains of MOVE Children

    UCR Anthropology shares the collective outrage at the treatment of the remains of the people killed during the bombing of MOVE in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985. We endorse our colleagues' statements and calls for action presented below:

    Concerning the Possession and Unethical Use of the Remains of the Children of MOVE and the Africa Family: A Collective Statement from the Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA), the Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA), and the Black in Bioanthropology Collective (BiBA)

    Statement from Graduate Alumni from Princeton Anthropology Concerning the Unethical Possession and Handling of the Remains of MOVE Children

    We have also issued our own Statement Concerning Our Human Osteological Collections.