Cultural Heritage in Museum Collections: Repatriation, Restitution, and Ethical Stewardship

Ethical stewardship is a fundamental responsibility for museums that collect and exhibit cultural heritage, sometimes involving principles that can seem at odds with existing standards and best practices. Whether repatriating a cultural item to an origin community, returning a looted artwork to the heirs of an original owner, or creating a policy to support ceremonial offerings in storage, ethical stewardship enables museums to confront their challenging histories, right historical wrongs, and share stewardship of collections in new ways. This course examines the principles, responsibilities, and practices of ethical stewardship with a focus on repatriation and restitution. We examine the historical context of museum collecting, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and domestic repatriation in the United States, Nazi-era looting and restitution, international repatriation, archival and digital repatriation, and ethical stewardship beyond returns, including collaborative collections care, interpretation, and exhibition. Through lectures, discussions, and case study analyses, students examine the legal and ethical issues involved in repatriation and restitution, consider the diverse perspectives of collaborative care, and reflect on both the challenges and opportunities ethical stewardship brings to museum practice.