From Weiss v. Perez, decided Wednesday by Judge Beth Labson Freeman (N.D. Cal.):
In this case, Elizabeth Weiss, a tenured professor of physical anthropology at San Jose State University, alleges that the University has retaliated against her for her speech expressing opposition to repatriation of Native American remains….
Weiss is a tenured professor of physical anthropology at San Jose State University … where she specializes in osteology, the study of human skeletal remains. Weiss is a critic of repatriation, which is a process through which Native American remains and cultural items are returned to tribes.
In 2020, she published a book titled "Repatriation and Erasing the Past," which criticizes federal and state laws that require universities and museums to return Native American remains to tribes. She argues in the book that these laws "undermine objective scientific inquiry and violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution by favoring religion over science." The book generated significant criticism, with about a thousand professors and graduate students signing an open letter calling the book "anti-indigenous" and "racist."
Weiss also authored an op-ed and tweet that received criticism.. On August 31, 2021, she published an op-ed in The Mercury News and The East Bay Times outlining her critique of AB 275, which amended CalNAGPRA. After the op-ed was published, the University received "vitriolic emails" from academics and the public demanding discipline.
