Hello, The following story from the Sacramento Bee (http://www.sacbee.com) was sent to you by: indigo ([log in to unmask]). And indigo had this to say: A rather thought-provoking article. You can read this story in its entirety on the web at: http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/opinions/story/3289091p-12123043c.html -------------------------------------------------------------------- RANDY SALZMAN: Removing relics vs. preserving history Last Updated 3:17 pm PDT Tuesday, May 16, 2006 (CMS) - It took trips to opposite corners of the globe to settle my opinion as to whether museums' collections represented the "preservation" or "theft" of other cultures' artifacts. In Australia, the Melbourne Museum broadcasts this debate through a video featuring actors playing two 19th-century historical figures - a museum curator and an Aboriginal chieftain. Baldwin Spencer, who collected 5,000 objects from indigenous Aboriginals, argued that anthropology preserved history. Irrapwe, an Arrernte leader known as "King Charley," argued it was theft of culture. Since Aboriginal law differentiates between men's and women's knowledge and prohibits entire races from even seeing their cultural icons, I left Australia secure that native cultures should reserve the absolute right to control their artifacts. -------------------------------------------------------------------- This article is protected by copyright and should not be printed or distributed for anything except personal use. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).