Museums play a very crucial role in educating our society of its past. They have a vast collection of artifacts, documents, and information that are displayed for the public to view and learn from around the world. These institutions ensure our understanding and appreciation for various groups and cultures while promoting a better understanding of our collective heritage and foster dialogue, curiosity and self-reflection (Wages, 2014 - Huffington Post). For example, the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Québec is open to the public and showcases the collective history of the Canadian people and presents how said history evolved. Museums still exist today as institutions that preserve and showcase our society’s rich history (Wages). Without museums, we would lose our links to the past, and museums help us and our future generations learn from our experiences, innovations, and mistakes in history.
Museums have artifacts and documents from all around the world. However, most of the international artifacts in western museums were not borrowed or taken with permission. One museum in particular that has a considerable amount of “stolen” objects is the British Museum located in the United Kingdom; to the extent that it is considered the world's largest receiver of stolen goods (Alberge, 2019 - The Guardian). One of the largest reasons why artifacts were taken is colonialism. Before the 21st century, a considerable majority of the world was colonized by Western European nations, and as a result, most artifacts from colonized nations were taken and never returned, whether through the form of trade or with the use of force. Today, many activists and nations call this modern neo-colonialism and still advocate for some museums to return the artifacts (Daniels, 2020 - The New York Times). However, should museums return artifacts? If so, is there a limit to what they can, or should return?
The fact stands that some artifacts, such as the Indian Kooh-I-Noor diamond in the UK’s Tower of London, were legally traded. However, some of these artifacts were not necessarily loaned, given by, or taken from, a foreign country with permission. So in that case, museums and their governments must understand that these items do not belong to them and must be returned to their country of origin. Many countries, such as Nigeria, have started to ask counties and museums to return their artifacts and efforts are being made. The question that is then asked is how can museums be decolonized? To begin with, decolonization does not just stop with returning artifacts. It involves teaching and re-telling stories and events from perspectives outside of those of the colonizer.
Colonialism has passed on some of its effects to current day museums, to the point where one could call it neo-colonialism. Decolonizing museums won’t be as simple as museums and countries just returning items to their countries of origin or refusing to do so. It involves re-learning, and re-educating, and presenting history from not just one, but multiple perspectives. In most nations and jurisdictions, thieving is a criminal offence and punishable by law, and the material stolen must be returned to its place of origin or the rightful owner, not to mention showcasing it as our own and telling our side of the story of it. So it leaves me wondering how we as a society are letting this go?
Comments