Re: “Museum will no longer collect Indigenous remains,” May 21.
The story about Royal B.C. Museum policy on repatriation of Indigenous remains and artifacts, while conveying welcome news, contains a misunderstanding about the international status of the repatriation process. Dianne Hinkley is quoted as saying: “Some museums, especially those in the U.K., refuse to even speak with them [Indigenous people] about the artifacts.”
However, it is my understanding that there have been productive and ongoing conversations with both the British Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University.
Lucy Bell, head of the First Nations department and repatriation program at RBCM, has been involved in these meetings as part of the Haida Repatriation Committee. The interaction is documented in This Is Our Life: Haida Material Heritage and Changing Museum Practice (UBC Press, 2013). Bell recently spoke on the topic at our local museum, effectively spreading the word about changing attitudes and policies within a context of reconciliation.
Phyllis Reeve
Gabriola
