Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits

Posted on 09 April 2017 by Chip Colwell

Who owns the past and the objects that physically connect us to history And who has the right to decide this ownership, particularly when the objects are sacred or, in the case of skeletal remains, human Is it the museums that care for the objects or the communities whose ancestors made them These questions are at the heart of Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits, an unflinching insider account by a leading curator who has spent years learning how to balance these controversial considerations Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage This book offers his personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics Things, like people, have biographies Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. New Download [ Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits ] by [ Chip Colwell ] – kino-fada.fr Chip Colwell, senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature Science, takes us on a journey through the battlefields of paperwork over ownership of the history of native peoples Archaeologists or grave robbers, thieve...Almost hidden in the back of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, off of a scenic atrium behind the wildlife halls, is an unassuming doorway with a sign above it North American Indian Cultures Inside this exhibit, next to the story of Tlingit Potlaches, a short video runs on a constant loop It shows a repatriation ceremony conducted when a ceremonial Killer Whale Hat was returned to the Tlingit tribe Its return had been requested by the Tlingit tribe, under NAGPRA, the Native American Gr Almost hidden in the back of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, off of a scenic atrium behind the wildlife halls, is an unassuming doorway with a sign above it North American Indian Cultures Inside this exhibit, next to the story of Tlingit Potlaches, a short video runs on a constant loop It shows a repatriation ceremony conducted when a ceremonial Killer Whale Hat was returned to the Tlingit tribe Its return had been requested by the Tlingit tribe, under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.This book, by Chip Colwell, the Senior Curator of Anthropology at DMNS, chronicles the journey of the sacred objects in the museum s collection how they left the tribes and entered the possession of collectors, how they ended up in the museum s collection, and how, through NAGPRA, they were repatriated to the tribes who hold them sacred Colwell focuses on four ca...If you want to learn about the history of native people, how their remains and relics have been stolen, and how museums have tried, oroften than not tried not to return them to the tribes to which they belong, then this is the book for you.Mr Colwell has done an amazing amount of research on the many peoples that have had to deal with these issues and how they were treated throughout time.The slaughter of native peoples and then having so much of their history stolen is very sad but also If you want to learn about the history of native people, how their remains and relics have been stolen, and how museums have tried, oroften than not tried not to return them to the tribes to which they belong, then this is the book for you.Mr Colwell has done an amazing amount of research on the many peoples that have had to deal with these issues and how they were treated throughout time.The slaughter of native peoples and then having so much of their history stolen is very sad but also needs to be known and discussed so that appropriate measures can be taken to return to them what is theirs The information contained in this book, and the personalities and what they ve had to go through to get any recognition, is impressive and terrifying What all this made me think of was this If your grandmother had been buri...For anyone who has asked themselves why does repatriation matter or who doesn t disagree when Indiana Jones says, it belongs in a museum Chip Colwell provides an important account on why repatriation is not antagonistic to science and why it is morally correct Through personal accountings of 4 repatriation cases, Colwell gives a highly readable and deeply researched history of the plundering, display, and repatriation process Ultimately he shows how the process of repatriation, first by For anyone who has asked themselves why does repatriation matter or who doesn t disagree when Indiana Jones says, it belongs in a museum Chip Colwell provides an important account on why repatriation is not antagonistic to science and why it is morally correct Through personal accountings of 4 repatriation cases, Colwell gives a highly readable and deeply researched history of the plundering, display, and repatriation process Ultimate...Terrific Book Colwell does an excellent job of discussing the topic and posing the interests of the stakesholders in the debate with empathy and passion Several times while discussing the perspectives on a tough issue, I could find myself being persuaded by both sides of the argument While he does this, he never stoops to playing devil s advocate, and shows integrity and sincere solidarity with native people All in all, an interesting book, and a principled exploration of what is in many way Terrific Book Colwell does an excellent job of discussing the topic and posing the interests of the stakesholders in the debate with empathy and passion Several times while discussing the perspectives on a tough issue, I could find myself being persuaded by both sides of the argument While he does this, h...A sad but interesting book Despite NAGPRA, only 27% of all Indian remains in US collections remain affiliated with existing tribes The history of our exploitation of Indian remains is sad and tragic As director of the Denver Museum of Natural History, Colwell know...An engaging and moving narrative on the stumbling blocks and shortcomings encountered when museum curators apply NAGPRA guidelines to their collections Colwell uses four case studies of objects and human remains repatriated by t...Colewell does a wonderful job exploring the history of NAGPRA and the relationship between native communities and museums As he points out, this new legislation creates a new chapter in American museums.I blazed through this book in just a few days, it was that interesting Learned a lot about the real cultural appropriation by museums and art collectors of Native American artefacts and treasures I didn t know that Andy Warhol possessed a Zuni war god.A fascinating topic discussed in a book that reads well and keeps you engaged I m highly recommend it.

English
09 April 2017

Chip Colwell