Australian Aboriginal representatives are in the UK to lobby the Wellcome Trust, Oxford & Cambridge Universities for the return of Aboriginal remains held in their collection – something that they are likely to be successful with, based on their track record in recent years since the introduction of the Human Tissue Act 2004.

They are also discussing another entirely separate case – that of a sculpted bus of the last true Aboriginal from Tasmania, claiming that it is racist art. I’m in two minds about this case – whilst I respect their views & the original motivation for creation of the bust may in part have been motivated by a racially prejudiced world view, there is no evidenced that this is what the sculpture is now being used to portray. This is not something that physically ever belonged to the Aborigines, but instead they are laying claim to a likeness or representation, something that could set a very uncomfortable precedent if they were successful. One possible compromise would of course be to remove the artefact from display, but still to retain ownership of it. Another might be for more informative signage to indicate to visitors the issues surrounding the piece. Because the bust is currently in the British Museum, the British Museum Act’s anti-deaccessioning clauses would rule out the possibility of any form of outright return – at present if those asking for the artefact have plans for circumventing this.

From:
Artinfo

Aboriginal Remains, And a Bust, Sought From U.K.
Published: September 17, 2009

HOBART, Australia—She’s the most famous historical figure from the Tasmanian Aboriginal community in Australia, and 130 years after her death, representations of Truganini in the form of busts have provoked a continuing controversy.

Last month the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre in Hobart stopped a Sotheby’s auction in Melbourne from selling busts of Truganini and her husband, Woureddy. Now, representatives of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community have flown to Britain in hopes of reclaiming another copy of Truganini’s bust, along with remains of other ancestors held by medical and academic institutions in the U.K.
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In colonial times, many human body parts were collected from burial sites across the British Empire. Now, the descendants of the people who ended up in museum archives across the UK want their ancestral remains returned. Scientists argue that more study needs to be done, before this valuable resource is lost – but this seems to overwhelm the overwhelming moral obligation for return, which exists in many of these cases.

From:
Independent

09 November 2002 22:23 BDT
The skeletons of colonialism may get a decent burial at last

Body parts trundled back from all corners of the globe and displayed like mere ornaments are among the exhibits most popular with visitors to British collections. James Morrison reports on moves to give other cultures’ ancestors a more dignified end
10 November 2002

To the Victorians, they were invaluable specimens crucial to the study of human evolution. Today, they are viewed by many as little more than grisly reminders of the worst excesses of colonialism. But sweeping changes to the policies governing museum collections may pave the way for the mass repatriation of human remains to their countries of origin.
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