Justifications and legal considerations for repatriation of First Nations material culture in Canada

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Bell, Catherine

• Introduction: The topic of repatriation of cultural items creates some discomfort as it may generate polarized perspectives and bring into focus issues of intercultural understanding, ethics, law, politics, knowledge, power, values, and economics. Questions such as “Who owns culture? Whose property? Whose laws, practices, concepts and values should prevail?” imply that universal answers to such questions can be determined. However, these are questions of ongoing debate and complexity that cannot be answered in the abstract without reference to a particular item, people, or institution. This is especially so in Canada when we consider Aboriginal material culture owned or controlled under Canadian law by the Crown, or purchased with public funds, and in the possession of government-funded museums or other public institutions, such as universities.

• Date created

  2008

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Collaboration
  • Potlach
  • Masque « Echo »
  • Système Législatif
  • Réparation
  • Restitution
  • Lois Canadiennes
  • Propriété

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3PV6BN32

• License

  © 2008 Éditions du CIÉRA. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author(s) and source must be cited.