Repatriation, Science and Identity

Repatriation, Science, and Identity explores the entanglement of race, history, identity and ethics inherent in the application of scientific techniques to determine the provenance of Indigenous Ancestral Remains in repatriation claims and processes.

The book considers how these issues relate to collections of Indigenous Ancestral (bodily) Remains but also their resonance with emerging concerns about the relatively unknown history of scientific interest in Indigenous hair and blood samples. It also explores the more recent practice of sampling for the purposes of DNA analysis and issues concerning the data that has been produced from all of the above types of research. Placing recent interest in applying scientific techniques to repatriation in their historical context, it enables discourses of identity and scientific authority, an assessment of their efficacy and an exploration of ethical and practical challenges and opportunities. In doing so, this book reveals new histories about scientific interest in Indigenous biology and the collections that resulted, as well as providing reflection for all repatriation practitioners considering scientific investigation when faced with the challenges inherent in the repatriation of unprovenanced or poorly provenanced Ancestral Remains.

Providing the reader with a means to approach the value, or otherwise, of the scientific information they may encounter, Repatriation, Science, and Identity is an invaluable resource for researchers and professionals working with Indigenous Ancestral Remains.

Professor Cressida Fforde is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at The Australian National University (ANU). She has undertaken scholarly and applied research in repatriation since the early 1990s and has been a founding member of the Return Reconcile Renew initiative since 2013 (www.returnreconcilerenew.info).

Dr Hilary Howes is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow based in the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at ANU. Her research to date addresses the German-speaking tradition within anthropology and archaeology, focusing on Austrian, German, Russian and Swiss collectors and collecting in Australia and the Pacific region.

Dr Gareth Knapman is a Research Fellow with the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at ANU. Dr Knapman previously worked as a curator and repatriation officer at Museum Victoria's Indigenous Cultures Department. He has written extensively on museum collections and collecting and has made significant contributions to Australian Aboriginal history.

Associate Professor Lyndon Ormond-Parker (Alyawarr) is an Australian Research Council Research Fellow (IN220100008) in the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at ANU. He is also a Principal Research Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society at RMIT University (CE200100005).