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Who should own Native American artifacts?
If you have ever been to a natural history museum, you probably saw an exhibit of what your hometown or state was like before Europeans colonized the land. These exhibits often include artifacts and possibly skeletons of Native Americans.
Exhibits like these may be informative, but to Native Americans, they can be a source of frustration. Until recently, Native Americans could claim no ownership rights to artifacts that were taken from their land. Their burial grounds were dug up by archaeologists, and the findings were sent to museums across the country and world. Many artifacts were either purchased, often below the value of the object, or stolen, with little legal recourse for the tribes.
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The U.S. government’s history with Native Americans is complex and often tragic. In 1830, the Cherokee Nation struggled to remain on its homeland. President Andrew Jackson wanted the land cleared of all Cherokee settlement to allow white settlers to move onto the land. The state of Georgia enacted a series of laws that stripped the Cherokee of their rights. The tribe, under the leadership of John Ross, sued the state and took the case, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, to the Supreme Court, asking it to use its constitutional powers to resolve disputes between states and sovereign nations to stop Georgia from forcing out the Cherokees. The Supreme Court sided with Georgia, saying the court did not have the authority to act in the case because Native American tribes are “domestic, dependent nations,” not sovereign nations. Federal troops forced tribe members to march to present-day Oklahoma in what is known as the “Trail of Tears.”
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In 1990, things changed. The federal government passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which gave Native American tribes the legal authority to reclaim artifacts from federally funded museums. Museums are asked to return objects that are sacred, meaning they are used in present-day ceremonies. Institutions also must give back artifacts that have “ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group or culture itself.”
The law requires museums that receive federal funding to keep an up-to-date inventory of all artifacts that are of Native American origin. Tribes can claim ownership of the objects, and if a review determines their claim is justified, ownership of the artifact is given to the tribes.
What happens to the artifacts is then up to the tribe. In August 2010, the Wichita Tribe in Oklahoma decided that it wanted the return of artifacts displayed in a museum in Towanda, Kan. The artifacts, consisting of 15 painted figurines and a large grass lodge, were handed over without any resistance. “We are just very pleased the artifacts are going back to the Wichita Tribe,” said Lisa Soller, museum education curator.
Not every transaction between a museum and a tribe goes so smoothly. The University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has in its collection more than 40 items that the Tlingit people of southeastern Alaska are claiming. The museum offered to turn over eight of the objects, allowing the clan to serve as co-curator of the rest of the artifacts, which include headdresses, carved masks and ceremonial horns.
Clan members say that the offer is unacceptable and plan to take the museum to court if it does not make a better offer. “We have the right of possession,” said Marlene Johnson, a member of the T’akdeintaan clan and chair of the nonprofit Huna Heritage Foundation, which worked on the clan’s claim.
What do you think?
Who should own Native American artifacts? Does the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act right the wrong of having cultural objects taken from tribes? Join the discussion and let us know what you think!
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