Lecture on Repatriation and Museum Ethics

Introduction

• Presenter is an archaeologist and museum curator.
• Paradoxical role: Collects for the museum but also returns items to their origins.
• Drawn to museums for the magic of objects, education, and social interaction.
• Museums attract 850 million visits annually in the US alone.

Issues with Museums

• Increasing demand for repatriation of cultural artifacts.
• Examples of repatriation demands:
  • Greece wants Parthenon marbles from the British Museum.
  • Egypt demands antiquities from Germany.
  • Maori of New Zealand seek return of ancestral tattooed heads.
  • Native Americans have been reclaiming artifacts and human remains from US museums.

Case Study: Zuni War Gods

• War gods are wooden carvings by the Zuni tribe, New Mexico.
• Collected by anthropologists in the 1880s; viewed as art by museums.
• For Zunis: War gods are living beings, not art.
• Ritual significance: Carved, placed on shrines for protection and balance.
• Zunis demand return of war gods from museums.

The Curator's Perspective

• Advocates for the return of war gods to Zunis.
• Contrasts with Indiana Jones' mantra that artifacts belong in museums.
• Personal journey: From love of archaeology to understanding dark history.
• Realization during college: Native American rights and culture were plundered.

Historical Context

• 1860s onwards: Native Americans' graves and artifacts were collected without consent.
• Native American skeletons used in scientific studies to justify racial hierarchies.
• US Congress passed a law in 1990 allowing Native Americans to reclaim their heritage.

Repatriation Work

• The Denver Museum of Nature and Science began returning artifacts under the presenter's guidance.
• Process involved negotiation and respectful transfer of remains.
• Resulted in reburial of skeletal remains and return of sacred objects.

Continuing Challenges

• Repatriation is an ongoing issue.
• Hundreds of tribes waiting for their turn.
• War gods returned, but many artifacts still outside US law, in private or international collections.

European Museum Visit

• Presenter traveled with Zuni leader to European museums.
• Museums in Berlin, Paris, and London hold war gods without provisions for repatriation.
• Zuni leader's emotional reaction to seeing war gods far from home.

Conclusion

• Repatriation offers a new beginning for museums.
• Museums hold vast collections; returning items does not deplete their value.
• Forming relationships with Native Americans enriches cultural understanding.
• Personal reflection on visiting returned war gods and acknowledging history.
• Call for museums to respect living cultures and correct past mistakes for a hopeful future.