Let's Talk New Mexico, 9/7 8am: For more than two centuries, museums and universities have kept collections of Native American human remains in the name of science. A recent ProPublica report found that despite the promise of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), institutions have continued to hold and use indigenous remains in research projects aimed at things like dating cultivation of corn and showing when migration routes were active.
On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico we’ll explore the use of Native American remains for academic purposes and the challenge of getting remains returned to their homelands, and we want to hear your thoughts.
Is it moral to use Indigenous remains for research? What about if the remains are destroyed in the process? When, and how, should they be returned to their tribal communities? Email letstalk@kunm.org, leave a voice message on your computer by clicking the button below, or call (505) 277-5866 during the show Thursday morning from 8 to 9.
Guests:
- Mary Hudetz, reporter, ProPublica
- Pollyanna "Polly" Nordstrand - Executive Director, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
- Theresa Pasqual, Director, Office of Tribal Historic Preservation, Pueblo of Acoma
- Kari Schleher, Curator of Archeology, Maxwell Museum
- Carla Sinopoli, Director, Maxwell Museum
Related Reading:
- The Repatriation Project; The Delayed Return of Native Remains, ProPublica
- Push to Return 116,000 Native American Remains Is Long-Awaited, The New York Times
- Senators press for faster repatriation of Native American remains, NBC News
