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Thinking about repatriation....

Repatriation is one strategy that Indigenous and other communities have used to gain more access to or control over their belongings that have ended up in museums. Repatriation or returning typically involves several steps, and at each one there are several important considerations for museums and communities. Many of these concerns and ideas overlap, and are expressed by museums, their staff, community members, Indigenous people, and others:
 

  • Thinking about ownership: who is the best owner? who is the rightful owner? how is this decided? are there western or community based ideas about ownership that should or could apply? how did the item make its way to the museum? what might a transfer of ownership look like? is an ownership transfer a possibility, given regulatory, protocol, or other frameworks?
     

  • Thinking about conflict: what problems could repatriation cause? for who? what sorts of burdens might repatriation entail?
     

  • Thinking about the belonging/item/object: what rights might it have? under what circumstances was it made/created/collected? by who? does its lifetime imply any obligations for its future? what would be in it's best interest? who decides?
     

  • Thinking about care: what condition is the item in? what might that mean for its futurity? what sort of care could it have? who could give it that care? who would like to care for it? who is interested in the type of care it receives? why are they interested? what does good care look like to different people and institutions?
     

  • Thinking about legal considerations: what laws might the item be subject to? are there legal considerations to repatriation? is it's possession in the museum contravening law? are there Indigenous, state, or international legal frameworks that apply? which frameworks have jurisdiction? why?
     

  • Thinking about access: In what ways might access to the item change through repatriation? does anyone benefit from that change? does anyone not benefit? does changing access facilitate particular futures? for who or what?
     

  • Thinking about best interests: whose interests matter most? which of the above considerations should take priority? what if there are competing interests? how does colonality factor into this work? what obligations might museums have? who decides what is best?

Some Repatriation Resources

Totem is a film about a repatriation process that the Haisla nation went through to have a pole returned to their community.
FNSCORA is the legislation covering repatriation of provincial collections in Alberta. It only applies to Blackfoot ceremonial items.
The Indigenous Repatriation Handbook was developed to help museums in BC carry out repatriation with communities based there.
NAGPRA is legislation in that governs museums in the USA in repatriation of human remains as well as artifacts. There is no law like this in Canada.
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FNSCORA
Repatriation Handbook.png
NAGPRA.png
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