The University House at the University of California-San Diego. The ancestral remains were discovered on the grounds. Photo from UCSD

The 12 tribes of the Kumeyaay Nation are hoping to reclaim two of their ancestors now that the U.S. Supreme Court has put an end to a lawsuit filed by a group of scientists.

The University of California in San Diego was prepared to return the remains of a man and a woman under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The tribes designated the La Posta Band of Mission Indians as the recipient, according to a December 2011 notice in the Federal Register.

But the transfer never went through because the scientists filed a lawsuit, arguing that they had a right to study the remains. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, ruled that the case could not proceed without the involvement of the tribes and that the tribes could not be joined due to their sovereign immunity.

Indianz.Com SoundCloud: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Oral Arguments in White v. University of California

The scientists asked the Supreme Court to overturn the decision but the justices declined to hear the case in a January 25 order. The tribes now plan “to contact the university and see what the next steps are for repatriation," attorney Dorothy Alther of the California Indian Legal Services told The New York Times.

The remains date back 9,500 years and were found on land owned by the University of California, a public institution.

Get the Story:
Tribes’ Win in Fight for La Jolla Bones Clouds Hopes for DNA Studies (The New York Times 2/2)

9th Circuit Decision:
White v. University of California (August 27, 2014)

Federal Register Notice:
Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA (December 5, 2011)

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Steven Newcomb: Scientists lay claim to Kumeyaay ancestors (04/15)
New Scientist: Remains at center of NAGPRA feud in California (05/16)
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