Museum Worlds: Advances in Research 5 (2017): 88–94 © Berghahn Books*
doi:10.3167/armw.2017.050109
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Ritual Processes of Repatriation
A Discussion
Edited by Jennifer Shannon
Contributors: Sonya Atalay; Jisgang, Nika Collison;
Te Herekiekie Herewini; Eric Hollinger; Michelle Horwood;
Robert W. Preucel; Anthony Shelton; and Paul Tapsell
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ABSTRACT: What do those who participate in repatriation—on behalf of the museums
and the communities to whom there is return—most want people to know about it?
Nine prominent scholars provide short commentaries in response to this special section
on the ritual processes of repatriation. Te discussants are museum professionals, Indig-
enous community members, repatriation claimants, and repatriation ofcers; these are
not mutually exclusive categories. Tey discuss the transformative power of repatriation
on museums, communities, and our individual selves, and provide models for appro-
priate cultural practice and how to demonstrate respect. Teir contributions call us to
ceremony, to restorative justice, to engage in repatriation, and to witness how it has
changed them.
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KEYWORDS: ceremony, healing, Indigenous peoples, museums, repatriation, restorative
justice
To include more perspectives in this special section, we invited individuals who engage in
repatriation to comment on the dominant themes in the articles. Repatriation is, as Jisgang (Nika
Collison) and Anthony Shelton note specifcally and all the authors below attest to, transfor-
mative work for all who are involved, whether they are from a museum, Indigenous community,
or both.
Sonya Atalay (Anishinaabe—Ojibwe)
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Repatriation is healing. Rituals of repatriation restore balance, bring healing, and contribute
to a holistic sense of well-being. Trough repatriation and reburial ceremonies, we fulfll our
responsibilities to our ancestors, but we also bring healing to ourselves, our communities, and