Summary:
- Elizabeth Weiss, a tenured professor of anthropology, claims that she was unjustly the target of retaliation after exercising her right to free speech.
- She voiced opposition to the repatriation of Native American skeletal remains and burial items.
- Repatriation prioritizes the voices of Native Americans over those of non-Native Americans.
- SJSU says it has no plans to delete documents but will repatriate or otherwise address such materials if requested by affected tribes.
- The professor, Jennifer Weiss, says she was denied access to skeletal remains for research.
- SJSU says it will continue to defend itself adamantly in this matter.
Elizabeth Weiss, a San José State University professor, and an anthropologist who opposes indigenous repatriation has filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging that she was disciplined for holding the opinion that repatriation favors religion over science.
A tenured anthropology professor who specializes in osteology (the study of bone structures and skeletons) claims in a lawsuit against San José State University (SJSU) in California that she was unjustly the target of retaliation for exercising her right to free speech, specifically for expressing her opposition to the repatriation of Native American skeletal remains and burial items.
Religion over science
In their book Repatriation and Erasing the Past, co-authored by James W. Springer and Elizabeth Weiss, who has taught at SJSU for nearly 20 years, the authors claim that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) undermine scientific inquiry and “favors religion over science.”
The 1990 NAGPRA statute requires federally funded institutions to catalog their collections of Native American human remains and burial items in order to facilitate their repatriation to the appropriate culturally affiliated tribes.
Weiss thought the book, which the University of Florida Press released, would promote productive discussion regarding repatriation. She claims, however, that after its publication, SJSU faculty members launched a “campaign of retaliation” against her, violating her right to freedom of expression, in a lawsuit she filed on October 19 of this year.
Repatriation of human remains is a threat
Weiss tells The Art Newspaper that “repatriation of human remains is a threat to amassing scientific knowledge.” Repatriation is an ideology that prioritizes the voices of Native Americans over those of non-Native Americans and goes beyond the simple burial of human remains and funerary items. As a result, a Native American elder’s account is preferred over a non-Native scientist’s facts.
Weiss and Springer’s book, which has drawn significant criticism from both inside and outside the university, contains similar sentiments throughout. The views expressed therein are “antithetical to the contemporary practise of anthropology and actively harmful to Indigenous people and the strides the discipline has made in the last three decades,” according to an open letter published shortly after its publication by representatives of several international universities.
Weiss claims that an interim university directive issued in January of this year that prohibits the analysis of skeletal specimens protected under NAGPRA and other laws has specifically harmed her research. She says that researchers who are not affiliated with SJSU shouldn’t be able to use data or research that has already been published in theses and dissertations. I am the only professor of physical anthropology at the college.
Cancel culture
Weiss continues by saying that hostilities between her and SJSU faculty and staff have worsened over the past two years. She claims she was denied access to a database that encouraged students to cite Black, Indigenous, and people of color authors, that she was denied sponsorship for a panel about “cancel culture,” that she was denied a seat on a thesis committee for work that involved bones, that she was chastised for questioning the idea that Native scholars should lead a planned Native American studies program at SJSU, and that she was suspended from the university.
According to Weiss, “Who tells the story is less important than whether the story is true.” It shouldn’t matter if a person is Native American or not. It shouldn’t change the truth of what they say or what kind of research they can do.
SJSU has “extended the plans of repatriating human remains to the burning of previously-taken x-rays,” according to Weiss, as well as plans to “destroy photographs and records,” both of which are not covered by the lawsuit.
NAGPRA guidelines
According to an SJSU spokesperson, “changes to the management of and research relating to collections at SJSU were made at the direction of the affected tribes, as is required [under NAGPRA in California],” and Weiss “still manages all the collections held in the anthropology department that are not subject to NAGPRA.”
According to the spokesperson, the university “has no such plans” to delete documents. Instead, in accordance with the affected tribes’ requests, the Native American Heritage Commission’s directives, and other applicable state and federal laws, we intend to repatriate or otherwise address such materials.
The SJSU spokesperson continues, “Although the judge permitted the lawsuit to proceed, the ruling made it clear that Weiss cannot challenge state and federal laws mandating the return of human remains and associated items to Indigenous tribes. Retaliation does not include changing the president of the university’s directive regarding the temporary curatorial protocol or asking the court to interpret NAGPRA. The university will continue to defend itself adamantly in this matter and rejects any retaliation claims.
Old dispute renewed
Weiss’s views have criticized SJSU students and faculty numerous times. The university held a webinar titled “What to do When a Tenured Professor is Branded a Racist” last year in response. Weiss claims that during the meeting, which is no longer available online, Roberto Gonzalez, the head of SJSU’s anthropology department, hinted that he would have disciplined Weiss if she did not hold tenure and said she was “professionally incompetent.”
After the webinar, Weiss asked the university for a letter assuring her that she could assign her book, discuss her research in class, and have access to skeletal remains for research. Gonzalez declined her request and did not apologize for his earlier comments.
According to the NAGPRA database, SJSU’s inventory currently includes four Native American human remains and burial items. Weiss emphasizes that the issue at hand in her lawsuit is free speech rather than repatriation.
She claims that I have always complied with the law even though I’m afraid I have to disagree with both the ideology and the laws governing repatriation. “My lawsuit is regarding the actions taken by my university for expressing my views, not any past or future repatriations at SJSU.”
Political polarization has fueled disagreements over free speech on college campuses, making them hot topics in recent years.
