City manager: Carnegie Art Museum out of compliance with NAGPRA; city to begin repatriation work

City manager Alex Snowin presented a recorded update ahead of the Community Services, Public Safety, Housing and Development Committee’s March 10, 2026 meeting saying the Carnegie Art Museum had not been in compliance with federal and state repatriation laws and that staff will begin the work required to identify and consult with tribes.

The update, released as a video briefing, said staff discovered the museum had not followed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California’s equivalent (Cal NAGPRA). Snowin told viewers the staff recommendation is that the committee "receive and file this update and also forward it to the city council." He asked interested parties to review the staff report for more detailed information.

Snowin gave a brief institutional history: the Carnegie Art Museum was built in 1906, designated a municipal art museum in 1985 and closed in 2019 because of budget constraints. He said he proposed repurposing the building as an arts center in fall 2023, a proposal the committee tabled pending additional options. The newly disclosed repatriation obligations are now central to planning future uses and to decisions about displays and collections.

The video attached to the update summarized why repatriation matters. In the clip, Kimberly Morales Johnson, tribal secretary for the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, described the emotional and cultural stakes, saying, "I remember being scared because it was basically human remains everywhere." The clip also cited federal and state processes, and reported that the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County has repatriated about 26% of ancestral remains and still holds roughly 380, according to a NAGPRA officer quoted in the piece.

Snowin explained that NAGPRA (the 1990 federal law) and Cal NAGPRA (a state law in effect since about 2001) create formal consultation steps and legal obligations for museums. He noted recent federal rule changes in 2024 that require institutions to defer to Indigenous knowledge in repatriation decisions and restrict displaying ancestors and certain cultural items without tribal permission. Snowin said Oxnard only began working on these obligations in 2025, which puts the city behind larger institutions, but added the Carnegie likely holds far fewer items and that staff expect the process to be manageable.

No formal vote or motion was recorded in the video; the staff recommendation is procedural—receive and file the update and forward it to the City Council. Snowin said staff will return to the committee with a further update after "tangible progress" is made and reiterated that the staff report contains more detailed information on the scope, steps and timing.

The committee and city now face two parallel tasks: begin statutorily required consultations under NAGPRA/Cal NAGPRA and resolve outstanding questions about the building’s future use and seismic issues before pursuing reuse options.