Returning a stolen generation

Abstract

This article is concerned with people– rather than objects – and their return. Human remains illicitly removed from source communities to UK museums during the colonial period are now being repatriated at an unprecedented rate. However, a few UK institutions remain deaf to the voices of descendants, whose feelings of violation can be deepened by uninformed and thoughtless treatment by the holding institution. At least two principles should guide museums in dealing with claims: context and consent. In analysing context, both the historical circumstances in which the remains of people left their source community and entered the museum and the current circumstances of the claim should be sensitively explored. The spirit and conduct of inquiry should involve a dialogue between the museum and the source community that recognizes equity and should be informed by respect, to avoid adding a third stage of violation. By extension, consent – or the lack of it – is a crucial factor in past dispossession and present possession. The racial constructs of nineteenth‐century science and museum practice can resonate uncomfortably in the twenty‐first, if holding institutions fail to engage appropriately with claimant communities.