Unveiling America's Dark History: The American Museum of Natural History's Controversial Decision Sparks Outrage
The American Museum of Natural History in New York is relocating its collection of 12,000 human remains, including those of Indigenous and enslaved Black individuals This decision aims to provide a more respectful and inclusive approach to preserving and presenting these historical artifacts
The American Museum of Natural History in New York has decided to remove all human remains currently on display in its exhibits. Additionally, the museum is making arrangements for a new storage facility to house its collection of 12,000 remains, which includes skeletal remains of Indigenous peoples and enslaved Black individuals. This information was shared in a letter from the museum's president, Sean M. Decatur, that was obtained by CNN. In the letter, President Decatur emphasized the importance of acknowledging that, except for those who voluntarily donated their bodies for scientific study, the individuals whose remains are in the museum did not give their consent for them to be included in a museum collection.
The museum's updated collections policy explicitly prohibits the acquisition of any item or lot that has been collected or recovered in a manner that could facilitate or endorse the irresponsible damage or destruction of archeological sites, cultural monuments, or human burial places.
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A complete human skeleton is exhibited in a reconstruction of the burial of a warrior from Mongolia in about 1000 CE.
American Museum of Natural History
In Decatur's statement, he mentioned that a total of 12 display cases will have the skeletons, mummies, musical instruments, and beads made from or including human bones removed. Within the museum's collection, 26% of the thousands of skeletal remains are identified as Native Americans from the United States, while the majority of the remaining remains are from foreign origins.
According to a letter, the museum houses the remains of five enslaved Black individuals, who were extracted from a burial site in New York during a road construction initiative in the early 1900s.
A spokesperson for the museum, Kendra Snyder, stated to CNN that the displayed skeletal remains represent merely a fraction of the museum's complete collection.
That comprises a full human skeleton showcased in a reenacted Mongolian warrior burial from approximately 1000 CE, a Tibetan apron crafted in the 19th century out of human bone, and, as part of the Aztec musical instruments exhibition in the Hall of Mexico and South America, various instruments fashioned from human bones, informed Snyder.
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The Hall of Mexico and South America in the American Museum of Natural History features an exhibit showcasing Aztec musical instruments. Among the displayed percussion instruments are three rasps, consisting of a ceramic model positioned at the center top, along with two others constructed from human bones located at the left and right side of the display.
Decatur stated in the letter that the items showcased in the exhibition do not possess enough significance in relation to the exhibition's objectives and storyline to outweigh the ethical predicaments arising from the display of human remains alongside and parallel to the objects. He further emphasized that these human remains are ancestral figures, some of whom were victims of brutal tragedies or representatives of exploited and abused groups, and the act of publicly exhibiting them only perpetuates their exploitation.
The policy change aims to tackle the intricate history of the human remains collection and emphasizes the importance of appropriately preserving the remains until repatriation can be carried out.
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A 19th-century Tibetan apron, made of human bone, is displayed near Tibetan masks in the Hall of Asian Peoples.
American Museum of Natural History
"Moreover, even when the exhibit components consist of cultural artifacts, it is crucial to proceed with this course of action as we reassess our responsibility towards collections of deceased individuals' remains," he affirmed.
Within the correspondence, the museum recognized that researchers of the 19th and 20th centuries utilized these remains to propel "inherently flawed scientific objectives driven by white supremacy ideology - specifically, the examination of physical disparities that could perpetuate notions of racial superiority."
"Human remains collections were made possible by extreme imbalances of power," Decatur said.
