Challenging the "love of possessions": Repatriation of sacred objects in the United States and Canada

Dekker, Jennifer Challenging the "love of possessions": Repatriation of sacred objects in the United States and Canada. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, 2018, vol. 14, n. 1, pp. 37-62. [Journal article (Paginated)]

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English abstract

In 1990, the US passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, requiring the repatriation of ancestral remains, funerary and sacred objects from museums to source communities. Since then, hundreds of thousands of repatriations have occurred, allowing for respectful treatment of ancestors and reconnections to spiritual, communal practice and ceremony. In Canada, repatriation has been recommended by the Assembly of First Nations, the Canadian Museums Association and the UNDRIP but there is no federal law. Does Canada have a functioning alternative? This review provides a comparative analysis of how repatriation differs in the two countries, arguing that case-by-case negotiations in Canada currently allow for more flexibility and customization to the needs of different Indigenous communities, but that the transparency and financing associated with NAGPRA would be a significant benefit to Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Item type: Journal article (Paginated)
Keywords: Indigenous cultural property, NAGPRA, Repatriation, Sacred Objects, Museums, Canada
Subjects: D. Libraries as physical collections. > DM. Museums.
J. Technical services in libraries, archives, museum. > JA. Acquisitions.
Depositing user: Ms. Jennifer Dekker
Date deposited: 28 Aug 2018 22:13
Last modified: 28 Aug 2018 22:13
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/33374

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