Cultural Repatriation - Hyperallergic (Page 2)

In Brief

As Belgium Reopens Africa Museum, DR Congo Demands Restitution of Artifacts

Belgium's occupation of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the most brutal chapters of colonial history. Now, the African country is asking for its artifacts and artworks back from Europe.

Art

A French Report on Repatriating African Cultural Heritage Stirs the Pot

Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr and French art historian Bénédicte Savoy were charged by the French president to develop a clear framework for the potential restitution of African art to several African nations.

In Brief

Easter Islanders Are Visiting British Museum to Request Repatriation of Ancestral Heritage

"For us [the statue] is a brother; but for them it is a souvenir or an attraction,” said a member of the Easter Island development commission, Anakena Manutomatoma.

Art

Should the Getty Return Its Famed "Victorious Youth" Statue?

In the Italian city of Pesaro last month, a court ruled that the Getty Museum’s prized “Victorious Youth” statue should be returned to Italy, and in response, the J. Paul Getty Trust issued a public reply, noting that Italy has no cultural claim on the statue.

Art

British Exhibitions of Ethiopian Manuscripts Prompt Questions About Repatriation

Exhibitions at British cultural institutions have lately underscored the artistic output of Ethiopian scribes, and in the process, have also renewed questions around whether museums that have benefitted from acts of imperialism and colonialism should now return looted objects.

Visitors at the British Museum (photo by Mark Ramsay, via Flickr)

Opinion

Museums Should Consider Why They’ve Become Targets of Attack and Protest

A terror plot targeting the British Museum was recently thwarted, but the reasons why it became a target in the first place go far beyond the current political climate.

Art

Why an Indigenous Australian Wants the British Museum to Return His Ancestor’s Shield

Rodney Kelly is campaigning the museum to repatriate the Gweagal shield, which belonged to his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

News

North America's Oldest Mummy Returns to a Native Tribe

In one of the latest examples of American museums repatriating human remains, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe was given control of the 10,600-year-old Spirit Cave mummy.

News

US Judge Approves Warrant for Acoma Shield Listed for Sale by Paris Auction House

An Acoma shield that was removed from a May auction in Paris that included human remains and indigenous sacred objects has yet to be returned.

News

US Senator Introduces Bill to Stop Overseas Sales of Stolen Indigenous Objects

To better protect sacred indigenous objects from being sold in international markets, Senator Martin Heinrich has introduced the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act with support from politicians of both parties as well as tribal leaders.

News

British MPs Propose Bill to Return the Elgin Marbles to Greece

With the 200th anniversary this week of the July 11, 1816 purchase through an Act of Parliament of the Parthenon Marbles for the British Museum, members of parliament are introducing a bill that would repatriate the ancient artifacts.

News

Smithsonian Hosts Emergency Meeting About Paris Auction of Indigenous Remains and Objects [UPDATED]

This afternoon, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, hosted an emergency meeting of tribal leaders, government representatives, and NGO officials to call for a halt to a Monday auction in Paris that involves human remains and sacred indigenous objects.