The bones are speaking: community engagement, Ancestral Remains and restoration

Abstract

Museums and universities hold the remains of many Indigenous people that were collected over years for race-based science. More needs to be done with the affected communities for the ancestors to be buried. Dignity needs to be restored to those whose eternal resting places were desecrated and defiled. The spirits of those who came before us need to find peace. The bones need to rest and be returned to the earth so that the suffering and strife of the community can cease, and healing can take place. As museums, we need to be bold enough to act accordingly and stay firm in our resolve to proactively right the wrongs of the past. Communities need to know where their people are, and justice needs to be restored through having the ancestors finally interred to rest in peace and not in pieces.