Repatriation of Sacred Indigenous Cultural Heritage and the Law: Lessons from the United States and Canada

This book examines the ways in which law can be used to structure the return of indigenous sacred cultural heritage to indigenous communities, referred to as repatriation in this volume. In particular, it aims at developing legal structures that align repatriation with contemporary international human rights standards. To do so, it gathers the most valuable lessons learned from different repatriation laws and frameworks adopted in the United States and Canada. In both countries, very different ways of approaching repatriation have been used for several decades, highlighting the context-dependent nature of repatriation. The volume is divided into four parts, looking first at international law, then at the national legal landscape in the United States, followed by Canada, before the different repatriation models are evaluated against the backdrop of human rights law standards. Emphasis is placed not only on repatriation-specific legislation but also on the legal context in which it was developed and operates. In turn, the fourth part develops various models on the basis of these experiences that can be aligned with contemporary indigenous and cultural rights. The book ends by considering the models' suitability for international repatriation and the lessons that can be learned from them. The primary audience includes those addressing the legal hurdles to repatriation, be they researchers, policymakers, communities, or museums.

Author: Vanessa Tünsmeyer
Publisher: Springer
Published: 01/27/2023
Pages: 515
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.65lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 1.09d
ISBN13: 9783030890490
ISBN10: 303089049X
BISAC Categories:
- Law | International
- Social Science | Anthropology | Cultural & Social
- Social Science | Archaeology

About the Author

Dr. Vanessa Tünsmeyer is a member of the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights and the Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage. Her research focuses on (indigenous) cultural rights, repatriation of heritage, and international cultural heritage law.