Truth-Telling and Repair | Roundtable Discussion

[@Girackle]

I'm wondering if the people who were native to the land where this university sits. Appreciate the acknowledgment that it is sitting on their land. If I stole a car from someone but each time I took a passenger in it I would say I acknowledge that we are sitting and so and so's car. Wouldn't it just be better to give the car back to the original owner?

[@FrankKrasicki]

An interesting discussion in its surprising lack of specificity. It seems to be specific to the consequences of Archaeological research which is conducted for scientific and cultural research. Nobody knows ahead of time what will or will not be found and what is found is often a mystery to be unraveled. Obviously, University researchers nationwide participate and history museums also collect what's found. This discussion generalizes the justification for all of this as being "for the benefit of all of humanity". There is no acknowledgement that the very existence of theses finds nor that their preservation is remarkable unto itself. Some tribes and some Indians claim ownership or scientific control over their use. The artifacts come in two flavors; human remains and human by-products (goods and co-incidentals). The eco-system of ownership rights and recriminations is compounded by the fact that is some cases its unclear who the human remains are socially coupled to (e.g. tribe, nation, family tree) and its equally unclear why museums and research institutions are being regarded as lost and found repositories instead of museums. Though most of the discussion is civil, the rhetoric that archaeological and scientific inquiry are thievery is not at all helpful. These institutions and practices have done and do more to promote the preservation and further interest in discovery than is credited. While the repatriation of legitimately identifiable human remains that are not invaluable in research *should be* a top priority, nobody says as much. And nobody addresses the fact that if a caravan of moving vans were loaded and delivered to any of the destinations that the destination has the facilities or sustainable resources to independently manage the payload. These things can be massive money sinks if their sole value as museum specimens in a critical mass of contextual civic interest is eliminated. It seems to me that this too is an unmentioned priority - when are these artifacts more likely to be valued and cared for over deep time? And finally, why is it so hard to find reasonable vernaculars and solutions for the sole good of the artifacts themselves? Shouldn't it be a priority to act in the broad interest of humanity first (the baseline archetype for any identity) and then work our way to more esoteric provincial concerns.