Panel orders American Indian remains reburied for Bolsa Chica

Panel orders American Indian remains reburied
Handling of materials from Bolsa Chica graves has drawn criticism.
By Joe Segura, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/13/2008 09:59:52 PM PST
Updated: 12/13/2008 10:10:43 PM PST



PRESS-TELEGRAM BLOG » Read more from reporter Joe Segura in Neighbors
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO -- The state Native American Heritage Commission has ordered ancient remains discovered at the Bolsa Chica wetlands mesa in Huntington Beach to be buried within two months.

It was the second review in the span of a month of the handling of scores of remains, following a chorus of complaints Nov. 13 at a state Coastal Commission hearing in Long Beach that the unearthed remains are not being handled properly.

The ancestral remains, along with artifacts buried with them, have been unceremoniously bagged and stored in trailers for about two years, critics charged.

"This is an example of cultural catastrophe," said Anthony Rivera Jr., chairman of the Juaneno band of mission Indians in San Juan Capistrano.

The Native American Cultural Heritage Commission, in its unanimous vote late Friday night, wants the contents of the bagged items to be sorted and documented, in preparation for burial. It also has asked its staff to probe what steps the commission can take to preserve six acres at the wetlands mesa that are now pegged for development.

Before the Friday night vote, critics repeated the charges they made last month during a Coastal Commission review of a request to revoke the developer's building permits at the wetlands' mesa site.

In a nutshell, scores of


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ancient burials were discovered, along with thousands of artifacts, at the wetlands mesa. Critics contend the developer kept details secret to avoid restrictions on development at a significant site.
The developer, Hearthside Homes, countered that the details were provided in environmental reports.

Ed Mountford, senior vice president for Hearthside Homes, told the Coastal Commission last month that details of the discoveries were documented in a series of environmental impact reports submitted to the commission over the past two decades, as part of the commission's review process before voting on development permits.

He said some burials have been made, vowing that the remainder would be soon.

Details of the unearthed finds, however, had not reached the Native American Heritage Commission, according to program analyst Dave Singleton.

"There apparently are as many as 6,000 bags of material in trailers adjacent to the (Hearthside Homes) development site, far more than had previously been reported to the NAHC," Singleton stated in a letter released shortly after the Coastal Commission hearing in Long Beach.

"This find," Singleton added, "also raises the question about the balance of the material in those bags that may comprise many more fragments of human remains and possible associated grave goods."

The mesa, critics contend, could be a giant grave, which would limit development of the site.

The Native American Heritage Commission takes the lack of timely information seriously, Singleton said.

"The NAHC does have jurisdiction in such matters as the state trustee agency for the protection of Native American cultural resources and burial sites," he said.

On Nov. 13, the state Coastal Commission turned down the request to revoke the developer's building permit, ruling it did not have enough evidence to show intentional misconduct.

Anthony Morales, a Native American who led the push for revocation, suggested Friday night that burial sites should no longer become subject to scientific reviews.

"To heck with the archaeologists and science!" he snapped. "These are our ancestors!"

Mountford testified Thursday before a Coastal Commission hearing in San Francisco, vowing to have the reburials completed in a month's time without the scientific review, Singleton told the Native American Heritage Commission.

Critics had an uphill task getting the Coastal Commission's nod on a revocation, since the commission staff had recommended its denial.

The staff determined that excavation and salvage programs had followed prescribed protocols.

The Coastal Commission's staff report listed among the discoveries at the two sites 83 human remains that need to be reburied. More than 100,000 artifacts have been collected, including 5,839 items found during grading -- making the area, according to the critics, a significant site that should have had its status reported to the commission in a timely manner.

Many of the critics repeatedly charged that developer's archaeologist status reports dismissed the site as having little archaeological significance.

However, according to the Coastal Commission staff report, the revocation request "fails to demonstrate intentional inclusion of inaccurate, erroneous or incomplete information" into required reports to the commission.

No details of the discoveries were withheld by the applicant's archaeologist, the commission staff concluded.

Reburials are being held up, in part, because the documentation on the artifacts needs to be completed first -- mainly because the artifacts are often reburied with the ancient remains.

joe.segura@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1274

http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_11228760?nclick_check=1