Humanitarian action in academic institutions: a case study in the ethical stewardship of unidentified forensic cases

Abstract

Forensic anthropologists are often responsible for the management of long-term unidentified individuals. Others have contextualised these decedents—many of whom likely belonged to socially, politically, and/or economically marginalised groups in life—as part of a larger identification crisis in the US. However, there has been little discussion surrounding how this humanitarian crisis has manifested in academic institutions, where anthropologists often provide medicolegal consultation and act as long-term stewards of the unidentified. The Identification & Repatriation Initiative was created at the Forensic Anthropology Centre at Texas State University (FACTS) to recognise and investigate unidentified human remains in long-term storage. Our paper outlines common challenges that were encountered during our initial reassessment of unidentified cases at FACTS, emphasising the detrimental impacts of inconsistent procedures, loss of context, and case fatigue. It is likely that other academic institutions face similar challenges, and by highlighting these issues we hope to help initiate a larger conversation concerning ethical stewardship of human remains in these settings. By incorporating humanitarian perspectives into forensic casework, anthropologists in academia can better advocate for the long-term unidentified. Key points Forensic anthropologists at academic institutions are qualified to act as consultants on forensic casework when requested by jurisdictional authorities and are often responsible for the long-term management of unidentified human remains. The long-term unidentified represent a vulnerable population and academic institutions are not exempt from calls for humanitarian approaches to identification. The Identification and Repatriation Initiative was created at the Forensic Anthropology Centre at Texas State University to acknowledge and investigate unidentified human remains in long-term storage. This paper considers possible ways for humanitarian action to be incorporated into academic settings and suggests anthropologists can better advocate for the unidentified through procedural standardisation, institutional and interagency collaboration and ethical stewardship.