‘Qualifying the sacred: recognising First Nations cultural values in the management and repatriation of museum collections.’

Abstract

ABSTRACT Australian collecting institutions and heritage agencies have been returning Ancestral Remains and secret-sacred objects to Australian First Nations communities for over 30 years. In recent years, calls for repatriation have expanded to include what have often been called ‘secular’ objects. This paper considers the varying levels of sacredness potentially inherent in the types of ‘traditional’ secular objects that are characteristic of many museum collections. In museum collection management typologies, objects are often divided into discrete categories of secular, ceremonial and sacred. This paper considers how the divide between sacred and secular objects is actually far more complex, with associated impacts for collection management and repatriation.