scholarly journals Te Hokinga Mai O Ngā Tūpuna: Māori Perspectives of Repatriation and the Scientific Research of Ancestral Remains.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amber Aranui

<p>The repatriation of human remains has been the subject of much discussion and debate, especially since the 1990s. Since then, there has been a marked increase in the international literature relating to museums, indigenous peoples and repatriation; however, this literature is mainly written from the perspective of museums and universities. Although there has been some publication of the views on repatriation of indigenous communities there is a conspicuous absence of Māori perspectives in this literature. In particular, there is a lack of Māori voice on the repatriation of ancestral remains, as well as a lack of commentary on the so-called scientific research on ancestral remains that has taken place, and continues to take place, in universities, museums, and medical institutions around the world. This lack of indigenous perspective in the repatriation literature has resulted in mainstream assumptions about why indigenous communities, such as Māori, have been so active in repatriation activities over the last 25 years. The assumptions have tended to view the motives of indigenous peoples as politically motivated and even go as far as describing them as “activist” in nature rather than motivated by cultural beliefs and imperatives. This perceived view, as well as the views of many writers in the scientific and museum professions who do not agree with the repatriation of human remains back to origin communities because of their “loss to science” and therefore humankind, has prompted hotly contested debates concerning these issues. These contested views lead inevitably to the question of consent and whether the taking of skeletal remains from burial contexts to carry out ‘scientific’ research without consent is deemed ethical by today’s standards.  The primary aim of this thesis is to document Māori perspectives on the repatriation of ancestral human remains and to understand the significance of Māori ancestral human remains for descendant communities. A secondary aim is to review some of the scientific research which has been carried out on Māori ancestral remains, and to identify the benefits, if any, of that research for descendant communities.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amber Aranui

<p>The repatriation of human remains has been the subject of much discussion and debate, especially since the 1990s. Since then, there has been a marked increase in the international literature relating to museums, indigenous peoples and repatriation; however, this literature is mainly written from the perspective of museums and universities. Although there has been some publication of the views on repatriation of indigenous communities there is a conspicuous absence of Māori perspectives in this literature. In particular, there is a lack of Māori voice on the repatriation of ancestral remains, as well as a lack of commentary on the so-called scientific research on ancestral remains that has taken place, and continues to take place, in universities, museums, and medical institutions around the world. This lack of indigenous perspective in the repatriation literature has resulted in mainstream assumptions about why indigenous communities, such as Māori, have been so active in repatriation activities over the last 25 years. The assumptions have tended to view the motives of indigenous peoples as politically motivated and even go as far as describing them as “activist” in nature rather than motivated by cultural beliefs and imperatives. This perceived view, as well as the views of many writers in the scientific and museum professions who do not agree with the repatriation of human remains back to origin communities because of their “loss to science” and therefore humankind, has prompted hotly contested debates concerning these issues. These contested views lead inevitably to the question of consent and whether the taking of skeletal remains from burial contexts to carry out ‘scientific’ research without consent is deemed ethical by today’s standards.  The primary aim of this thesis is to document Māori perspectives on the repatriation of ancestral human remains and to understand the significance of Māori ancestral human remains for descendant communities. A secondary aim is to review some of the scientific research which has been carried out on Māori ancestral remains, and to identify the benefits, if any, of that research for descendant communities.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Kiri Aranui

For the past 20 years, the main focus of repatriation-related publications has been how the return of human remains has affected the institutions in which the remains reside. Be that with regard to the loss to science or public good, or changes in the way human remains are now cared for, treated, displayed, and stored. But what about the effects on the descendant communities from which these remains originate? There are some examples of Indigenous perspectives regarding the importance of repatriation in the literature, but these are few and far between by comparison. This article examines the importance of returning Māori ancestral remains back to descendant communities, and the development of the repatriation movement in Aotearoa New Zealand. The ethical consideration relating to research on Māori ancestral remains is also explored to understand how scientific research is viewed and used in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Certain academics and scientists have commented over the years that repatriation is a loss to science and a purely political ploy. It is hoped that by sharing some of the impacts that are dealt with from a Māori perspective, that there is a better understanding of how this effects indigenous communities all around the world.


Author(s):  
Elena F. GLADUN ◽  
Gennady F. DETTER ◽  
Olga V. ZAKHAROVA ◽  
Sergei M. ZUEV ◽  
Lyubov G. VOZELOVA

Developing democracy institutions and citizen participation in state affairs, the world community focuses on postcolonial studies, which allow us to identify new perspectives, set new priorities in various areas, in law and public administration among others. In Arctic countries, postcolonial discourse has an impact on the methodology of research related to indigenous issues, and this makes possible to understand specific picture of the world and ideas about what is happening in the world. Moreover, the traditions of Russian state and governance are specific and interaction between indigenous peoples and public authorities should be studied with a special research methodology which would reflect the peculiarities of domestic public law and aimed at solving legal issue and enrich public policy. The objective of the paper is to present a new integrated methodology that includes a system of philosophical, anthropological, socio-psychological methods, as well as methods of comparative analysis and scenario development methods to involve peripheral communities into decision-making process of planning the socio-economic development in one of Russia’s Arctic regions — the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District and to justify and further legislatively consolidate the optimal forms of interaction between public authorities and indigenous communities of the North. In 2020, the Arctic Research Center conducted a sociological survey in the Shuryshkararea of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, which seems to limit existing approaches to identifying public opinion about prospects for developing villages and organizing life of their residents. Our proposed methodology for taking into account the views of indigenous peoples can help to overcome the identified limitations.


Antiquity ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (300) ◽  
pp. 404-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurajane Smith

The editor’s question “who do human skeletons belong to?” (Antiquity 78: 5) can be answered positively, but it must be answered in context. The question was prompted by reports from the Working Group on Human Remains established by the British government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2001 to review the current legal status of human remains held in all publicly funded museums and galleries, and to consider and review submissions on the issue of the return of non-UK human remains to their descendent communities (DCMS 2003: 1-8). In effect, the report was primarily concerned with human remains from Indigenous communities, using a definition which follows the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as “distinct cultural groups having a historical continuity with pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories” (DCMS 2003:7). Consequently, the report deals primarily with the Indigenous communities of Australia, New Zealand and North America.


2003 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 129-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mills

In recognition of the societal and cultural values of ecological restoration several community-based programs have been developed throughout the world. In particular those with interests in the field of freshwater and riparian management have developed numerous programs to encourage community involvement in their management. While each of these programs gives de facto recognition to an ethos typically espoused by indigenous peoples, the concerns, values and localised knowledge of indigenous peoples continues to remain excluded from the management process. In documenting key aspects of the proposed restoration of Oruarangi Creek this paper aims to provide an example of how the concerns, values and knowledge of local indigenous communities can form a major component of the restoration process.


2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Kamau Maina

AbstractAn ongoing debate on the protection of traditional knowledge was prompted by the United Nations General Assembly declaration of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples in 1995 and the declaration of the Second International Decade in 2004. These two declarations challenged governments and the international community to address, nationally and internationally, issues that affect indigenous communities. One such issue is the protection of traditional knowledge. The three key international multilateral forums that are debating traditional knowledge issues are the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Using a political economy framework, this study analyzes the policymaking processes and mandates of the three multilateral forums in order to highlight stakeholders' levels of involvement in these processes. The study found that the multilateral forums' power structures, mandates, and decision-making processes disadvantage indigenous peoples and hinder their full participation in the forums' processes. The study recommends establishing a forum that would take into account indigenous peoples' worldviews; otherwise policy outcomes from these discussions will probably disadvantage indigenous peoples.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-372
Author(s):  
Snur Sabah Sidiq

The subject of the official study conditions in the city of Erbil is of great historical and cultural importance, especially for the city that historians have confirmed in historical sources as one of the oldest cities in the world. The subject of the official study conditions in the city of Erbil for the period between 1980-1991 did not have the importance of being mentioned by researchers, and scientific research has not been conducted on it. Therefore, there is a scientific necessity to carry out such research. The reason for choosing the study period (1980 - 1991) is that because of the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, all aspects of life were affected by this war. Although this war ended in 1988, its effects and repercussions continued to affect the joints of Life in Iraq and the city of Erbil, in addition to the fact that political problems and convulsions grew and developed in that period until Iraq entered Kuwait in 1990, which resulted in wars and regional and internal problems in Iraq. Since that date, a new historical era has begun in the region. This study consists of an introduction to the topic in addition to two main axes and concluded with a list of sources and appendices, in the entry a summary of the official study in the city of Erbil for the period between 1970 - 1980 was presented, and the first axis was devoted to the political situation and the educational process for the period between 1980 - 1991, and in the second axis The laws, regulations, and educational curricula for the period between 1980 - 1991 are covered.


2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Munarriz

AbstractRelying on critical legal approaches, in particular TWAIL and the work of Indigenous scholars, this paper analyzes the extent to which the World Bank's notion of "development" and its promotion of the expansion of market-based legal reforms in Latin American countries have benefited transnational corporations (TNCs) to the detriment of Indigenous Peoples. It argues that the World Bank's policy-based lending programmes and market-oriented legal framework since 1980 have contributed to an expansion of corporate mining activities, which have caused not only forced displacement and further impoverishment of numerous Indigenous communities but have also directly contributed to the destruction of their cultures and the environment they inhabit. Furthermore, the World Bank's normative operational policies and practices on issues affecting Indigenous Peoples have provided a legal framework and mechanisms that "manage" affected Indigenous communities in ways that further the dispossession of their lands and natural resources.


Author(s):  
Esther Effundem Njieassam

Land is an essential resource that serves as a means of subsistence for millions of people in the world and indigenous communities and women in particular. Most indigenous societies' survival is closely tied to land. In Cameroon, indigenous women are the backbone of food production in their communities. That makes access to land important, as it is a significant source of wealth and power for indigenous peoples in general and indigenous women in particular. While women all over the world encounter gender-based discrimination in relation to the control and ownership of land, indigenous women face triple discrimination on the basis of their gender (as women), their ethnicity (as indigenous peoples) and their economic class (economically poor). They are often dehumanised, degraded and subjected to treatment as second-class human beings despite the existence of national legislation that discourages such practices. This paper interrogates the possibility of including indigenous women in government and decision-making processes in Cameroon in the hope that they may be involved in key decision-making processes that affect them, thereby reducing their economic and social vulnerability. It concludes with some thoughtful recommendations on policy reform aimed at ensuring access to land for indigenous women as well as socio-economic justice in its broadest sense.    


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 795-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Borrows

Teaching Indigenous peoples’ own law in Canadian law schools presents significant challenges and opportunities. Materials can be organized in conventional or innovative ways. This article explores how law professors and others might best teach Indigenous peoples’ law. Questions canvassed include: whether Indigenous peoples’ law should primarily be taught in Indigenous communities, whether such law should even be taught in law schools, whether it is possible to categorize Indigenous peoples’ law or teach it in English, and whether it is possible to theorize Indigenous peoples’ law within a single framework or organize the subject within common law categories. While this article suggests that Indigenous peoples’ law can be discussed in numerous ways, including within conventional law school frameworks, it emphasizes that such law is best taught in other ways. Indigenous legal traditions should be organized in accordance with Indigenous frameworks. Some of these frameworks include Heroes, Tricksters, Monsters, and Caretakers. Using these Anishinaabe law examples, this article stresses how the teaching of Indigenous peoples’ law should be done in culturally appropriate ways that open rather than confine fields of inquiry within Indigenous law and practice.


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