With regard to ceremonial and human artifacts, laws
have been created, specifically the passing of the
Native American Graves Proctetion and Repatriation Act
in the early part of this decade, which requires that
the museum work with Native people before the
materials are displayed, and make the return of these
items to their owners' descendants or their Native
Nation a required priority.
        An ethical issue still remains despite the
implementation and enforcement of Acts such as NAGPRA,
because many Native Nations in the Americas are not
recognized by the US or other ruling governments.
Unfortunately without that recognition even if the
museum is willing to let the items be 'deaccessioned',
the legal matters of repatriation can be terribly
difficult and long.  In this case, it is my
understanding that the Native people desiring the
return of the item would have to 'prove' that they are
who they say they are before anything can be done.
        The active return of sensitive cultural items within
museums, whether they be indigenous to the Americas or
Africa, and whether their return is regulated by law,
has the underlying ethical issue of how active the
museum will be in processing and implenting the return
of the items.  IE- will the museum develop a policy
for these returns?  Actively inform the Peoples to
whom they belong?  Or wait passively for those Peoples
to find them?
        The issue of such cultural items is not simplified
editting in these cases.  Their removal or use within
a collection is surrounded by societal issues that are
grounded in the fact that many, I would even say most,
cultural museum collections were not created with
respect to the creators' of its artifacts, and that
museums are not a product of the indigenous societies
whose artifacts they display, and were not meant for
them.
        A "change in contemporary knowledge and attitudes" IS
normal as Ms. Britton wrote, but this change in
contemporary museum policy regarding artifacts like
I've and Ms. Jones have mentioned, is a change in the
values of Euroamerican culture.  Not a change in how
the Native people of the Americas views the museums'
use.  The misuse and acquisition of many of these
atrifacts has always been a concern for Native people.
I think this is an important distinction to make when
discussing the issues of ethical responsibility of
museums to these people.

Susie Husted
Museum Librarian
Brooklyn Childrens' Museum
145 Brooklyn Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11213
[log in to unmask]


--- Seana Jones <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Yes, but what about Aboriginal (Indian) material.
> For example, ceremonial masks, that had (and still
> have) personal religious meaning, that should not be
> on display or in a museum. Or for that matter,
> African religious artifacts.
>
> As an example from the States, what about the skulls
> of Native Americans (Indians). Shouldn't museums
> "edit" those artifacts out of their collections? I'm
> thinking of a story not too long ago where a major
> musuem in the States would not give the relatives
> the bones of their ancestors for
> proper burial. Is it not "immoral" for museums to
> continue to keep these types of objects in their
> collections?
>
> Shea (Seana Jones)
>
> Jackie Britton wrote:
> The changing of displays over time to reflect
> contemporary knowledge and attitudes is normal (but
> should be done with self awareness!) - the 'editing'
> of collections is another matter intirely and would
> be immoral in itself.
>
>
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