Repatriation and the generation of material culture

Bibliographic Data

ID7213019
AuthorsCara Krmpotich (0000-0003-0584-8564, University of Toronto, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume16
Issue2
Pages145-160
Publication date2011-04-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMortality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1357-6275 • E-ISSN: 1469-9885
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13576275.2011.560446
OpenAlexW2091546948
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited18

The repatriation of Haida ancestral remains from museums to Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada, was accompanied by the generation of objects that, over time, have developed into a material culture of repatriation. Archaeologists (among others) have tended to approach events of repatriation as processes that affect their ability to research: either negatively through the removal of available data, or positively through improved relationships with source communities. I propose that the material culture of repatriation is worthy of attention in its own right. On Haida Gwaii, objects were created to honour repatriated ancestors, while another parallel group of objects were made to garner financial and moral support for repatriation efforts. The resulting body of material culture provides an entry into local values regarding the living's responsibility to the deceased, as well as the ways in which repatriation is being integrated within the history and collective memory of the Haida Nation. The confluence of formal and informal, enduring and fleeting, material culture presents an opportunity to expand archaeological, anthropological and local understandings of repatriation, ancestral commemoration and collective remembrance in Haida society

Archaeology · Ethnology · Honour · Repatriation · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration

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