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A Letter to the Natural History Museum
| The National Indigenous Times (NIT) recently sent a letter to the British Natural History Museum asking for the location of the museum director, Michael Dixon’s, deceased relatives. Dripping with sarcasm, the letter stated ‘Our intention is to locate a close relative of Mr. Dixon’s and apply for the body to be exhumed so that we can organize DNA testing for a variety of scientific and other reasons’. To which the Natural History Museum replied: ‘I’m afraid I don’t think I’m going to be able to help you on this one. The Museum doesn’t actually hold records on the location of deceased kin of members of staff, and individual arrangements for organ donation are ultimately a personal matter’ As odd or even funny as these letters may seem, the issue is a very serious one. As the article in the NIT explains, the Natural History Museum is repatriating seventeen Tasmanian Indigenous people, but are conducting invasive scientific tests, before returning the remains. The case has been taken to the British High Court by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. According to this more recent article the case has been ‘adjourned pending mediation’. To me, this is a matter of respect. Of course museums must conduct research, but not at the expense of the communities they serve. |
Posted by Lisa at 9:49 PM
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