By Katie Priest, Sep. 3, 2024
Desireé Reneé Martinez is the new director of Tribal Relations, the National American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act and CalNAGPRA for Cal Poly Pomona.
The position serves as a cooperation between the campus and the surrounding tribal communities overseeing compliance with state and federal legislation surrounding repatriation efforts. One of the main objectives of the position is to ensure the campus’ compliance with both state and federal legislation through the California State University’s new NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA implementation policy.
On the federal level, NAGPRA dictates the repatriation of artifacts and objects back to federally recognized tribes. CalNAGPRA is California’s legislation, bringing in the addition of non-federally recognized tribes into state repatriation efforts. This is done in tandem with state assembly bills 275 and 389, which dictate the listing of tribes and manner of repatriation relating to the CSU.
“Assembly Bill 275 and assembly Bill 389 both lay out explicit timelines and expectations for the California State University and the University of California,” said Nicole Hawkes, vice president and chief of staff in the president’s office, who works closely with Martinez.
The Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, who are the original caretakers of the land where CPP’s campus resides, is now one of the tribes recognized by California.
Hired in June, Martinez is leading in a new position after the restructuring of a previous position on the presidential advisory board, according to Hawkes. This restructuring also comes with a higher level of responsibility along with the title change.
According to Hawkes , the rationale behind the restructuring was due to the need for more than compliance efforts, as well as Tribal Relations and student outreach efforts.
With the introduction of the new assembly bills the timeline for compliance and consultation with tribes has been accelerated to a new deadline at the end of the Fall 2024 , according to Hawkes. With a new deadline, Hawkes said she is grateful for Martinez not just for her expertise as an archeologist, but also Martinez’s understanding of the duty and care required from the position.
The connection between the Gabrielino/Tongva community and CPP is what drew Martinez to the campus position. As a member of the Gabrielino/Tongva community herself, the history of her tribe is what also brought Martinez to archeology.
“Being a member of the Gabrielino-Tongva community, as I was growing up a lot of the public did not know who the Gabrielino-Tongva people were with everybody thinking we were extinct, etc. ,” said Martinez. “So, I wanted to make sure that I was able to correct those misunderstandings about the community.”
This connection to the community is a part of Martinez’s driving force behind her efforts, spurred on by her personal experience. Martinez aims to not only rectify previous wrongs of grave disruption and artifact removal, but she also wants to preserve the resting place of her ancestors but also to solidify processes for Native American communities to participate and protect research done in their communities.
Madison May Garcia, the Native American Student Center retention coordinator, shared the center’s excitement over Martinez’s appointment and highlighted the importance of having a Native American woman in a higher education position at CPP. For Garcia, this visibility shows the members of the NASC a vision for their future and representation on campus.
“She has first-hand experiences in it, and so my students could really kind of see themselves in in her position, see themselves in her,” said Garcia. “And so I think, for my students they’re honored. They’re so happy.”
Martinez’s personal connection to the repatriation efforts also guides her Tribal Relations plan.
“One, get the cultural items back to their tribal families and let the tribes decide how they want to deal with them,” said Martinez. “But also, it’s more about education, right? And educating the students as the next generation of scholars that might go out there and want to work with indigenous communities.”
In addition to her goals for repatriation, Martinez wishes to expand the campus’ Native American education. One of these goals is to teach students, faculty and staff about the appropriate ways to reach out to tribes for collaboration and avoid performative inclusion.
“If you’re going to be working with Indigenous communities, then from the very beginning, they should be there to help shape and frame whatever question they want to investigate and it all starts there,” said Martinez.
As for students who want to become involved with the repatriation efforts or get involved with the NASC, there are many options available. For those interested in archeology, Martinez is presenting lectures in some archeology classes.
According to Hawkes, students should try to engage in projects that serve Native communities. The NASC is open to all students regardless of cultural background and invites students to visit and join events at the center. According to Garcia, she wants students from all backgrounds to the center for guidance, support and community.
Feature Image Courtesy of Desireé Reneé Martinez