A discussion of indigenous grave robbing and restorative justice, April 20
Dr. Holly Cusack-McVeigh will present Confronting a History of Grave Robbing and Looting: Repatriation as Restorative Justice from 4 to 5 p.m. on April 20 in Anspach 161.
According to Central Michigan Univeristy’s website, Cusack-McVeigh will be “discussing repatriation as a human rights issue and a form of social justice that pushes back on a history of colonialization.”
Cusack-McVeigh is an associate professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She is also an adjunct assistant professor of Native American & Indigenous Studies.
According to the Native American Rights Fund, Indigenous grave robbing is a practice that has taken place for hundreds of years, desecrating ancient burial sites and disrespecting indigenous people. While Indigenous heritage is an important area of study, grave robbing and looting damages important cultural sites and disrespects families and cultures.
According to CMU’s website, in 2014, FBI agents found approximately 2,000 bones in Indiana that were likely stolen from Native American graves. Other Native American artifacts were found as well marking the FBI’s largest recovery of Native American remains.
The Native American Rights Fund stated that while European nations were colonizing new lands, they would often times steal ceremonial objects from Native American graves. While many items are now in museums, some objects can be passed down through families making it difficult to keep track of. Despite this practice starting hundreds of years ago, it still takes place today.
Cusack-McVeigh will discuss all of this and how people can right the wrongs of the past. The event is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, Anthropology and Religion and the Olga J. and G. Roland Denison Visiting Professorship of Native American Studies.
For more information visit cmich.com.
