Nepal National Ethnographic Museum

According to a recent article in the Kathmandu Post, for more than 13 years a small group of anthropologists and sociologists has attempted to build a new ethnographic museum in Kirtipur, Nepal. Now, finally, funding has arrived and construction will begin. The museum will feature the scores of ethnic and cultural communities living in Nepal.

Art of Earth and Sky

Two new exhibits were recently announced:

“Art of Sky, Art of Earth: Maya Cosmic Imagery,” a new permanent exhibit, will open September 1 at Wake Forest University’s Museum of Anthropology.

“Veracruz: Ancient Cultures from Gulf of Mexico,” opens August 7 and runs until November 2009, at the Guanajuato Art and History Museum. Reportedly, some 80% of the objects are exhibited for the first time, and the exhibit will later travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Sao Paolo, in Brazil.

Japanese Bones III

And just like that, University of California at Berkeley officials offer to repatriate the remains of the Japanese soldiers purportedly taken after the Battle of Saipan. While no doubt many will applaud this decision on ethical if not legal grounds, many too will be left scratching their heads. Why is it that within 7 days of this story breaking the university decided to return these remains -- while thousands upon thousands of Native American remains are left on museum shelves? What legal mandates, if any and precisely, did the university decide demanded such swift and decisive action -- while NAGPRA, even nearly 20 years later, cannot get institutions to respond so promptly and agreeably?

The Stars and Stripes quotes a Japanese returnee from Saipan as saying, "I do not understand why they have to have been humiliated like that as subject of research for such a long time. It certainly lacks respect to the dead." Another says, "It just breaks my heart when I think how much they must have longed to go back to their homeland." It is fascinating to think about how Native Americans have been making similar arguments for a half-century or more, and yet, in general, they have received such a different reply from museums and universities.

We had similar questions when we read earlier this summer about the reburial in Tucson, Arizona, of nearly 60 soldiers who had fought in the Indian Wars. The remains had been excavated in 2007 to make way for a new building. At an estimated cost of $300,000, and witnessed by 750 local citizens, these remains were reverently laid to rest with full military honors. "These young men laid down their lives a long time ago so we could live in this country and this state," Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said after the ceremony. "I think it's important that we interred today the heroes of yesterday." A Civil War re-enactor and former Army reservist simply said, "I just thought it was something that should be done out of respect for the soldiers."

Why do people think so differently about Native American human remains?

Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival

From an American Museum of Natural History news release:

The Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival—the longest-running documentary film festival in the United States—will celebrate 33 years at the American Museum of Natural History this November, screening an outstanding and varied selection of titles culled from more than 1,000 submissions. The Festival is distinguished by extraordinary films that tackle diverse and challenging subjects, as well as exciting discussions with filmmakers and special guest speakers. The Festival presents a far-reaching selection of documentaries and other non-narrative works as well as animation, experimental films, and indigenous media. The Festival runs from Thursday–Sunday, November 12–15, 2009.

This year the Mead will highlight a series of films in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition Traveling the Silk Road, opening November 14, 2009. This series includes Hair India (Raffaele Brunetti and Marco Leopardi, NY Premiere), a stirring story about a destitute family’s religious sacrifice of hair that is processed and ultimately sold for profit and Cooking History (Péter Kerekes, director in person, NY Premiere), an exploration of the customs and conflicts of food on the frontlines, from serving up savory blinis to Soviet soldiers fighting off Nazi armies to feeding French forces during the Algerian War. Other Festival highlights include Babaji, an Indian Love Story (Jiska Rickels, US Premiere), a captivating tale about a centenarian man near Hazaribagh, India who has dug a grave next to his late wife’s and descends into it each morning to await death; Beyond the Game (Jos de Putter, director in person, US Premiere), a behind-the-scenes look at the tight-knit and competitive community of cybergamers that follows the top players of Warcraft III, the most popular game globally, on their way to the professional world championships; Blind Loves (Juraj Lehotsky, NY Premiere), an emotional story about four non-sighted subjects as they demonstrate and discuss their passions and anxieties while managing independent lives; and an exploration of the science and history behind Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica, a new multimedia performance by Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky), which incorporates the sounds of melting ice recorded by Miller in Antarctica.

Japanese Bones II

A controversy that may not go away anytime soon. Another article in which California state lawmakers demand repatriation, and one reporting the case to the British public. All the facts of the collection have yet to come out -- and both the university and the Japanese government have not said much, so far as we can tell.

After the last posting on this controversy, someone rightly asks in a comment what the different outcomes of this case might be if the remains were in fact legally collected and conveyed to the museum, compared to an illicit collection and acquisition in contravention of international law. As we learn more, it will be good to get a better handle on the legalities involved. But no doubt too, strong arguments will be made about the ethics of this collection -- asking what our professional and human ethics ask of us beyond what the law might allow.

Regarding Human Remains

A fascinating history-cum-dialogue about the shifting norms of collecting and displaying human remains in England and Australia.

Participants include: Dr. Lisa O'Sullivan (Senior Curator of Medicine, The Science Museum), Dr. Tiffany Jenkins (British sociologist working on a book called Contesting Human Remains; Museums and the Crisis of Authority), Simon Chaplin (Director of Museums & Special Collections, Royal College of Surgeons of England), and Lissant Bolton (Section Head, Oceania Oceanic collections, British Museum)

Director, Ethnology & Cultural Studies

The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) is home to two of the most recognized premier cultural institutions – the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum. As a member of the Canadian Heritage Portfolio, this federal Crown Corporation and its Museums promote a greater understanding of Canadian identity, history and culture by disseminating its knowledge throughout Canada and the world. With this goal, the CMCC is seeking a Director, Ethnology & Cultural Studies to lead the curatorial and research activities at the CMCC.

Job Code: OTT-305-09 / Salary: $90,000 - $120,000

Japanese Bones

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a brewing controversy at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Reportedly, the remains of Japanese soldiers -- taken in 1945 as "war booty" after the Battle of Saipan -- are in the museum's collections. The eminent anthropologist, and University of California at Berkeley professor, Nancy Scheper-Hughes is quoted extensively, encouraging repatriation. "It's common decency. You don't hang on to historical remains of enemy combatants in a decent museum. It's not Ripley's Believe It or Not. It's not a freak show," she said.

Underlying this case are deeper questions about the museological desire to possess the bodies of deceased people. We must ask ourselves: into the 21st century, why do museums continue to curate human remains? What motivates our impulse to collect and hold onto them? When should they be returned? What is the boundary between the ethics and laws of repatriation?

Museums in North America, and elsewhere, have struggled with these questions when it comes to Native American remains, but less often for remains that come from other ethnic communities. What, after all, is the difference between curating the earthly remains of Japanese soldiers and Native Americans taken from battlefields and graves?

Navajo Code Talkers Museum

Chevron Mining Inc., a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, today announced the donation of 208 acres of land to the Navajo Code Talkers Association (NCTA) for the future home of a Code Talkers museum and veterans center. The land transfer recognizes the Navajo Code Talkers for their service in creating history's only unbroken battlefield code during the Pacific campaign of World War II.

Dawn at the Museum

A well argued blog entry by Olivia Judson about the ongoing scientific value of museum collections, especially biological objects--a series of reflections offered after wandering the Oxford University Museum of Natural History's storied halls. One wonders, though, how this argument could articulate with anthropological collections, particularly as we contemplate how things made by particular cultural communities to be valued in specific cultural contexts are used for more expansive questions that answer to the history of all humanity.

Healing the Wounds of Looting

For several months, southern Utah has been consumed in a fiery debate about the culture of collecting there, illicit looting, and the role of the federal government in managing archaeological resources.

"Two people are dead, and a lot of the living are furious," begins this article on the controversy. "After an FBI raid last month in Blanding, Utah, which ended with 19 residents hauled in for trafficking in ancient artifacts, one of those indicted, a local doctor, killed himself with poisonous carbon monoxide. The second man used a gun to kill himself."

The article goes on to describe the creation of the "Kanab Archaeology Project," which aims to build a museum that "will create jobs and educate children about the need to respect these ancient sites, much as they're taught to respect pioneer Mormon settlements." An interesting development in a difficult case.

Museum of Man

More news on recent troubles at the San Diego Museum of Man.