The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History will host a launch party this Sunday for the Huichol Foundation, an organization intent on preserving the Mexican Huichol Indians and their lifestyle.

Federally unrecognized tribes throughout the country attempt to keep their cultures alive and their communities thriving without the government assistance guaranteed to federally recognized tribes.

The UC system, and UC Santa Cruz in particular, is in possession of Native American artifacts and burial remains. The UC is participating in a practice that —according to some tribes’ beliefs — robs a people of their own remains and puts their souls in jeopardy, making it an egregious offense.