One of the presenters kept mentioning that these bodies were "hundreds of years old" and thus void of any connections with modern ancestors of tribes. When I think of "hundreds of years ago" I either think of colonialism onwards. If this is the case, I have to believe that the study of native remains is racist. My reasoning is, if they are digging up native graves, why are they not also digging up the colonizers? Are they digging up the first Christian settlers in the New World?
In a small town in Quebec, where my grandfather was born, there are 2 cemeteries in which some graves are from the late 18th century. Now of course, no one would ever dream of digging up these graves but for a moment I would like to play devil's advocate. Could we not study the bones of these settlers? The clothing that they were wearing? The items they may have been buried with? Why is it that mainstream society feels that it is okay to dig up some graves and not others?
I would also like to add that in this small town where my grandfather is from, called Chapeau, there is a small native cemetery. It has been fenced to keep people out, and there is a sign that gives a brief history of the people and asks for respect and remembrance.
In Canada and the USA, there exists a concept of freedom of religion, which is why it is unethical to dig up graves of the natives. It goes against their religious beliefs. Would society allow such a thing to happen in a privately owned or municipally run cemetery like Victoria Lawn in St Catharines? I think not.
Native Americans and other minorities that have been put on display in museums is a mere freakshow. It seems to me to be racial discrimination and to say that one is "studying" these people as if they are sub-species disgusts me. These are people who lived, had families, had loved ones, and they were HUMAN.
Maybe I am in the minority in this mindset. Maybe I am one of the few who enjoys seeing the sarcophagus only and not the mummy.
I am not ignorant in the fact that studying the dead can bring valuable answers to the academic world. I am merely saying that until archaeological excavations, like the ones being enforced on the natives becomes EQUAL across the boards, it should not take place.
And for those native tribes who have had to give up their material culture and heritage in order to sustain themselves because they have little to no money, I blame the governments who have abandoned them and the buyers and collectors who have taken advantage of their situation.
ETA: NAGRA seems to me to be an organization that is concerned with not hindering archaeological study, but protecting culture. While students of archaeology may think that archaeology is the only legitimate way of learning about past culture, NAGRA proves that it isn't. Native Americans are protecting the culture that has been repeatedly ripped away from them since colonization. It is about protecting their past and gaining autonomy over the objects and people that are lost to them.
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