New regulations have led museums to take Indigenous artifacts and human remains off display until they can receive consent from the descendants of the people those items were taken from.
Senator Pushes #Museums to Return “Stolen” Native American Remains and Belongings
In a #Senate floor speech that centered America’s colonial history, Brian Schatz said institutions have a moral obligation to comply with federal #repatriation law. He demanded urgent action.
Federal Regulations Prompt Closure of Native American Displays at American Museum of Natural History by Karen K. Ho #ARTNews
"The American Museum of Natural History recently announced it will close two major halls exhibiting Native American objects in response to new federal regulations regarding the display or research of cultural items.
“The halls we are closing are artifacts of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples,” museum president Sean Decatur wrote in a letter to the museum’s staff on the morning of January 26. “Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others.”"
The American Museum of Natural History to Close Exhibits Displaying #Native American Belongings
The change is in response to new federal regulations that went into effect this month following reporting by ProPublica on institutional failures to return #NativeAmerican remains and sacred objects to tribes.
The Remains of Thousands of #Native Americans Were Returned to #Tribes This Year
Following decades of #Indigenous activism and the 2023 publication of ProPublica’s “Repatriation Project,” federal officials have seen more activity leading to the return of ancestral remains to tribal nations than any other year since 1990.
New Federal Rules Aim to Speed Repatriations of #Native Remains and Burial Items
The new Interior Department #regulations address long-criticized loopholes and issues identified by ProPublica’s reporting. The updated rules will go into effect in 2024.
UC #Berkeley Takes Significant Step to Repatriate 4,400 Native American Human Remains
It would be the largest repatriation by far at an institution that holds more than 9,000 ancestral remains and has lagged behind in returning its holdings under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
AMERICA’S BIGGEST MUSEUMS FAIL TO RETURN NATIVE AMERICAN HUMAN REMAINS (ProPublica, by Logan Jaffe, Mary Hudetz and Ash Ngu, 2023).
"As the United States pushed Native Americans from their lands to make way for westward expansion throughout the 1800s, museums and the federal government encouraged the looting of Indigenous remains, funerary objects and cultural items. Many of the institutions continue to hold these today — and in some cases resist their return despite the 1990 passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act."
A very interesting source of information on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) are the minutes of the Review Committee Meetings. They are available on this website:
"A court granted the Beltrami County Historical Society Museum permission to return sacred Indigenous artifacts to Indigenous communities where they originated."
There is a lot of foot-dragging by museums with regards to repatriating artifacts. I'm glad the Beltrami County HS chose to do so, even going to court to receive permission to bypass a restriction placed on the collection by a will.
How Long Delays in Repatriation Let Scientists Damage #Native Remains With #Government Funds
Federal agencies have awarded millions of dollars to scientific studies on #NativeAmerican human remains, undermining the goals of #NAGPRA as tribes fight for #repatriation.
Is the Metropolitan Museum of Art Displaying Objects That Belong to Native American Tribes?
Only a small percentage of works donated by Charles and Valerie Diker have clear ownership histories. Experts say this could mean objects are stolen or fake.
Meanwhile, the Met has been slow to ask tribes for information about the items.
Senate Committee Probes Top Universities, Museums Over Failures to Repatriate Human Remains
U.S. senators want five institutions to explain why they continue to hold thousands of #NativeAmerican remains and belongings, following reporting from ProPublica and NBC News.
“It’s immoral, it’s hypocritical, and it has to stop,” one senator said.