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Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture
Who owns the past and the objects that physically connect us to history? And who has the right to decide this ownership, particularly when the objects are sacred or, in the case of skeletal remains, human? Is it the museums that care for the objects or the communities whose ancestors made them? These questions are at the heart of Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits , an unflinching insider account by a leading curator who has spent years learning how to balance these controversial considerations.
Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. This book offers his personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics.
Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history.
Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. This book offers his personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics.
Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history.
360 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 4, 2022
Chip Colwell, senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, has written a very thorough, and complicated look at the repatriation of artifacts of 4 Native American nations and tribes.
Starting with the Zuni tribe's request to have their "War Gods" returned to their people. The "fight" that ensued lasted through court hearings, involved many institutions including the Smithsonian.
Chip begins with the "stealing" of the War Gods, starting in the early 1900's until the mid-1950's.
The Zuni's success encouraged other Native American tribes and Nations to pursue their fight in getting their artifacts and family member remains back from museums throughout the United States. Some tribes attempted to regain articles in European and other countries' museums, generally without success.
The four tribes discussed in this book are the Zunis, Cheyenne/Arapaho, Tlingit and the Calusa (extinct tribe in Florida).
Reading this filled me with many emotions - mostly grief that Native Americans were treated with so much disrespect.
How would you like it if someone came along and dug up your relative to study their bones, wanted the clothes to display in a museum? Especially without you being consulted or you giving your consent?
This is being added on Sept 4, 2022 ----
Received a delightful email from a very dear friend this morning - she has a family connection to one of the Tlingit elders who assisted in the author's writing.
Then there was this on NBC's website, will just provide the link
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...
Posted 9-4-22
Starting with the Zuni tribe's request to have their "War Gods" returned to their people. The "fight" that ensued lasted through court hearings, involved many institutions including the Smithsonian.
Chip begins with the "stealing" of the War Gods, starting in the early 1900's until the mid-1950's.
The Zuni's success encouraged other Native American tribes and Nations to pursue their fight in getting their artifacts and family member remains back from museums throughout the United States. Some tribes attempted to regain articles in European and other countries' museums, generally without success.
The four tribes discussed in this book are the Zunis, Cheyenne/Arapaho, Tlingit and the Calusa (extinct tribe in Florida).
Reading this filled me with many emotions - mostly grief that Native Americans were treated with so much disrespect.
How would you like it if someone came along and dug up your relative to study their bones, wanted the clothes to display in a museum? Especially without you being consulted or you giving your consent?
This is being added on Sept 4, 2022 ----
Received a delightful email from a very dear friend this morning - she has a family connection to one of the Tlingit elders who assisted in the author's writing.
Then there was this on NBC's website, will just provide the link
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...
Posted 9-4-22
June 23, 2025
”There are more scalps and skulls out there, somewhere. The cemetery is waiting to be filled.”
December 8, 2022
So glad that I actually read this book, shout out to Professor Novotny fr. Would Recommend, #learnedalot
April 19, 2020
Colwell's book traces the circumstances through which the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act came to be in the United States; the tensions between Native American communities and various institutions who have historically safeguarded artifacts of cultural heritage and human remains at the expense of the cultures that created them; and how repatriation is an ongoing process of collective stewardship. Worth a read if you've ever seen an artifact in a museum and questioned how it came to be there.
October 30, 2020
I cried multiple times while reading this. As a person with a Museum Studies MA and as someone who's curated a couple exhibitions, I was unsettled by my lack of NAGPRA education (we were only taught about it in passing in undergrad), and found this book at the bookstore I currently work at and was amazed. The language is very easy to understand (no gate-keeping) and I deeply appreciated that the photographs had their catalogue number listed. A very important book to read, especially for American museum professionals.
July 20, 2020
Part personal journey, part history of NAGPRA this fine study takes the reader from the Great Plains, to Florida, to Alaska on a journey into the Native American world view. This very sympathetic treatment of the issues surrounding repatriation of artefacts and human remains is a must read for students of US history, museums, and anthropology.
June 23, 2017
If you want to learn about the history of native people, how their remains and relics have been stolen, and how museums have tried, or more often than not tried not to return them to the tribes to which they belong, then this is the book for you.
Mr. Colwell has done an amazing amount of research on the many peoples that have had to deal with these issues and how they were treated throughout time.
The slaughter of native peoples and then having so much of their history stolen is very sad but also needs to be known and discussed so that appropriate measures can be taken to return to them what is theirs.
The information contained in this book, and the personalities and what they've had to go through to get any recognition, is impressive and terrifying. What all this made me think of was this: If your grandmother had been buried, and then dug up, would you think that would be okay if she was put in a museum or studied without your approval? If not, then why is it okay to do it to native peoples? Just because they are "interesting" because of their history, that doesn't give one the right to dig up their graves, take their relics, and use them for our experiments or our museums.
These were people and deserve to be respected in death just as they were in life. And that is also part of the problem, the white men came into native lands and disrespected them in life as they now do in death. The slaughter, the betrayal and the abuse that these people have dealt with was, and still is, unfair and wrong. This book tries to explain why this has happened and how to change the outcomes today.
Mr. Colwell has done an amazing amount of research on the many peoples that have had to deal with these issues and how they were treated throughout time.
The slaughter of native peoples and then having so much of their history stolen is very sad but also needs to be known and discussed so that appropriate measures can be taken to return to them what is theirs.
The information contained in this book, and the personalities and what they've had to go through to get any recognition, is impressive and terrifying. What all this made me think of was this: If your grandmother had been buried, and then dug up, would you think that would be okay if she was put in a museum or studied without your approval? If not, then why is it okay to do it to native peoples? Just because they are "interesting" because of their history, that doesn't give one the right to dig up their graves, take their relics, and use them for our experiments or our museums.
These were people and deserve to be respected in death just as they were in life. And that is also part of the problem, the white men came into native lands and disrespected them in life as they now do in death. The slaughter, the betrayal and the abuse that these people have dealt with was, and still is, unfair and wrong. This book tries to explain why this has happened and how to change the outcomes today.
April 24, 2021
Colwell, as a museum curator, is sometimes painfully sympathetic to museums that fight or chafe against repatriation. While the content was interesting and I learned a lot, I found myself annoyed with Colwell and the middle ground 'why can't we all just get along' stance he took. The conclusion especially bugged me when he discussed disagreements over history, as if museum curators who are not Native American have any claim to a history that is not theirs. BLEh. The case studies were gripping, the opinions not so much.
October 20, 2017
Chip Colwell, senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, takes us on a journey through the battlefields of paperwork over ownership of the history of native peoples. Archaeologists or grave robbers, thieves or preservationists? This book is an eye [and heart] opening read. I had no idea how terribly UN-enlightened I was until I read this book. What a journey.
May 25, 2017
An engaging and moving narrative on the stumbling blocks and shortcomings encountered when museum curators apply NAGPRA guidelines to their collections. Colwell uses four case studies of objects and human remains repatriated by the Denver Museum to illustrate how science and tradition can clash, and how they may ultimately work in concert to preserve Native American heritage on tribal terms.
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July 27, 2021Archaeologists as antagonists
Q: What's the biggest cemetery of Native Americans in the United States?
A: The Smithsonian Museum
-from the book
It's not often the case that we think of archaeologists or museum curators as villains. They're usually, rightly, perceived as high-minded cultural custodians, scientists, or scrappy adventurers. However, as this book shows, once one thinks about it, their hoard of exotic materials came from somewhere else, somewhere foreign to themselves, and thus by definition, something they don't exactly have the natural right to possess or hold on to.
The topic deliberated in this book is the issue of repatriation, or return, of the skeletons, remains, religious items, funereal adornment, and other artifacts of ceremonial importance to Native Americans that museums throughout the decades have plucked and collected. For some reason, the bones and skeletal remains of Native Americans are deemed fit by anthropologists and museum staff for display in exhibits and storage in collections, when the bones of equally old and deceased members of other ethnicities are not similarly ransacked from graves, scientifically experimented on, or put up for ghastly displays alongside jungle dioramas and depictions of exotic life. Religious relics, such as worshipped statues, hats and masks that are active elements of contemporary Native American ceremonies, are sold off as commodities at auctions or interned in museum catalogues, further dispossessing a people who could only review their heritage by conceding to the 9-5 operating hours of the museum, like usual tourists.
Furthermore, even when laws like NAGPRA order museums to specifically return Native American remains and objects, archaeologists and museum staff drag their feet and pull off all kinds of shenanigans and excuses to prevent the piecemeal disintegration of their collections. They shuffle paperwork enough to delay repatriation for 18 years. They come up with all manner of insults, such as, 'the only good indians are dead indians', to mock the tribes who they perceive as coming to encroach their personal hoards of collections. Often enough, they continue to fence their collections and hope the matter stews over, but the clamor of the outside world, the masses of people who one would think are less progressive or cosmopolitan than anthropologists, swells like a wave crashing over them. For instance, the FBI provided first class seats for a Zuni representative and the statue he was recovering with him. The police sent paired escorts to a car driving the return of statues at every fork in the road, to offer protection and respect. Republican senator John McCain sponsored a bill to repatriate Native American remains and artifacts, as did a Montana senator named John Melcher. When museums sought to tamp down on return of objects, thousands of concerned, ordinary Americans wrote an outpouring of letters to protest on behalf of Native American rights and ensured public fallout for any chicanery. It's strange to think of archaeologists and anthropologists as falling behind the FBI in acts of decency, but there it was.
Ultimately, the museums know that stocking up on claimed Native American remains is pragmatically a losers' game to play, though surprisingly, a lot of them aren't moved simply by the ethical deliberations alone. However, a lot of them fear the precedent it sets, that their collections could become exhausted and disbanded by all the people, previously colonized and stripped of their curios, coming forward to reclaim their cultural remains. Thus, repatriation goes straight to the heart of interrogating the raison d'etre of the museum and the museum industry as a whole. Why do we collect things in venerable institutions? Should we honor those who seek to preserve, or give way to those who partake in that heritage and seek to use it in a way that lets things decay? Should scholarship and public edification trump the religious and cultural assertions of locals to take back their ancestors, and the things they made? This book is a thought-provoking, nuanced, and balanced book, in fact the most provocative thing about is the title. It's an informative book rather than an opinion book.
Q: What's the biggest cemetery of Native Americans in the United States?
A: The Smithsonian Museum
-from the book
It's not often the case that we think of archaeologists or museum curators as villains. They're usually, rightly, perceived as high-minded cultural custodians, scientists, or scrappy adventurers. However, as this book shows, once one thinks about it, their hoard of exotic materials came from somewhere else, somewhere foreign to themselves, and thus by definition, something they don't exactly have the natural right to possess or hold on to.
The topic deliberated in this book is the issue of repatriation, or return, of the skeletons, remains, religious items, funereal adornment, and other artifacts of ceremonial importance to Native Americans that museums throughout the decades have plucked and collected. For some reason, the bones and skeletal remains of Native Americans are deemed fit by anthropologists and museum staff for display in exhibits and storage in collections, when the bones of equally old and deceased members of other ethnicities are not similarly ransacked from graves, scientifically experimented on, or put up for ghastly displays alongside jungle dioramas and depictions of exotic life. Religious relics, such as worshipped statues, hats and masks that are active elements of contemporary Native American ceremonies, are sold off as commodities at auctions or interned in museum catalogues, further dispossessing a people who could only review their heritage by conceding to the 9-5 operating hours of the museum, like usual tourists.
Furthermore, even when laws like NAGPRA order museums to specifically return Native American remains and objects, archaeologists and museum staff drag their feet and pull off all kinds of shenanigans and excuses to prevent the piecemeal disintegration of their collections. They shuffle paperwork enough to delay repatriation for 18 years. They come up with all manner of insults, such as, 'the only good indians are dead indians', to mock the tribes who they perceive as coming to encroach their personal hoards of collections. Often enough, they continue to fence their collections and hope the matter stews over, but the clamor of the outside world, the masses of people who one would think are less progressive or cosmopolitan than anthropologists, swells like a wave crashing over them. For instance, the FBI provided first class seats for a Zuni representative and the statue he was recovering with him. The police sent paired escorts to a car driving the return of statues at every fork in the road, to offer protection and respect. Republican senator John McCain sponsored a bill to repatriate Native American remains and artifacts, as did a Montana senator named John Melcher. When museums sought to tamp down on return of objects, thousands of concerned, ordinary Americans wrote an outpouring of letters to protest on behalf of Native American rights and ensured public fallout for any chicanery. It's strange to think of archaeologists and anthropologists as falling behind the FBI in acts of decency, but there it was.
Ultimately, the museums know that stocking up on claimed Native American remains is pragmatically a losers' game to play, though surprisingly, a lot of them aren't moved simply by the ethical deliberations alone. However, a lot of them fear the precedent it sets, that their collections could become exhausted and disbanded by all the people, previously colonized and stripped of their curios, coming forward to reclaim their cultural remains. Thus, repatriation goes straight to the heart of interrogating the raison d'etre of the museum and the museum industry as a whole. Why do we collect things in venerable institutions? Should we honor those who seek to preserve, or give way to those who partake in that heritage and seek to use it in a way that lets things decay? Should scholarship and public edification trump the religious and cultural assertions of locals to take back their ancestors, and the things they made? This book is a thought-provoking, nuanced, and balanced book, in fact the most provocative thing about is the title. It's an informative book rather than an opinion book.
February 28, 2024
Review:
"Chip Colwell's 'Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits' is a profound exploration into the complex and controversial world of repatriation, offering a firsthand account of the battle between museums and Native American communities over the ownership of sacred objects and ancestral remains. Colwell, the senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, delves into the heart of the conflict, examining the moral, spiritual, and political dimensions.
The book follows four compelling case studies, each representing a different facet of this ongoing struggle. Colwell navigates the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics, shedding light on the difficult decisions faced by both museums and tribes. Through the lens of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, readers are taken on a journey that prompts reflection on the balance between religious freedom and academic pursuits.
Colwell's narrative is not only a historical account but a call to acknowledge the biographies of objects and the importance of repatriation in healing the wounds of the past. The author's personal reflections and the detailed examination of each case make this book a thought-provoking and emotionally impactful read.
For those interested in history, nonfiction, anthropology, museums, archaeology, and the intricate intersection of culture and heritage, 'Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits' is an eye-opening exploration that encourages readers to confront the uncomfortable questions surrounding ownership, respect, and the responsibilities of preserving cultural artifacts."
"Chip Colwell's 'Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits' is a profound exploration into the complex and controversial world of repatriation, offering a firsthand account of the battle between museums and Native American communities over the ownership of sacred objects and ancestral remains. Colwell, the senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, delves into the heart of the conflict, examining the moral, spiritual, and political dimensions.
The book follows four compelling case studies, each representing a different facet of this ongoing struggle. Colwell navigates the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics, shedding light on the difficult decisions faced by both museums and tribes. Through the lens of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, readers are taken on a journey that prompts reflection on the balance between religious freedom and academic pursuits.
Colwell's narrative is not only a historical account but a call to acknowledge the biographies of objects and the importance of repatriation in healing the wounds of the past. The author's personal reflections and the detailed examination of each case make this book a thought-provoking and emotionally impactful read.
For those interested in history, nonfiction, anthropology, museums, archaeology, and the intricate intersection of culture and heritage, 'Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits' is an eye-opening exploration that encourages readers to confront the uncomfortable questions surrounding ownership, respect, and the responsibilities of preserving cultural artifacts."
February 27, 2026
colwell dives into the history of museums, universities, and government-supported scientists collecting Native American skulls, scalps, and sacred objects often taken from graves, battlefields, and massacre sites and what really struck me is how normalized and institutionalized it all was. this wasn’t fringe behavior, it was professional, state-supported, and justified in the name of science and racial classification. a huge part of the book focuses on the NAGPRA, which requires federally funded institutions to return human remains and cultural items to affiliated tribes, and while it’s often framed as a moral correction, colwell shows how repatriation still operates within the same structural system that once enabled the collecting in the first place. the federal government that allowed and legitimized the accumulation of Indigenous remains is now the authority regulating their return, and tribes are often required to prove cultural affiliation through colonial records and bureaucratic processes. the tension between repair and the persistence of colonial frameworks runs throughout the book. there are genuinely powerful moments of return and healing, but also resistance, delays, and institutional defensiveness that make it clear this history isn’t easily resolved. it’s not written like a dense academic text, it reads more like investigative storytelling grounded in anthropology, which i always prefer because it makes it accessible while still effectively holding the weight of what happened. it definitely makes you think about museums and the word “collection,” especially when what’s being collected are human beings.
July 8, 2023
Where do the dead, the sacred, and the communal belong? With whom? What takes precedence, religious or academic freedom? These are only some of the questions that senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science Colwell explores in Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits.
The Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (also known as NAGPRA) created a path for the return of human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony, meaning items that were communally owned in 1990. Many feared that NAGPRA would lead to the death of museums, but Colwell argues that has been far from the case. By following the stories of four objects (a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from an “extinct” tribe), Colwell masterfully, clearly, and thoughtfully considers all sides of the repatriation process from the births of the objects to their ultimate returns home.
Well-researched and, at times, personal, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits is vital reading for anyone who wishes to learn about repatriation, the museum world, and the muddied boundaries of academic and moral responsibility.
The Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (also known as NAGPRA) created a path for the return of human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony, meaning items that were communally owned in 1990. Many feared that NAGPRA would lead to the death of museums, but Colwell argues that has been far from the case. By following the stories of four objects (a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from an “extinct” tribe), Colwell masterfully, clearly, and thoughtfully considers all sides of the repatriation process from the births of the objects to their ultimate returns home.
Well-researched and, at times, personal, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits is vital reading for anyone who wishes to learn about repatriation, the museum world, and the muddied boundaries of academic and moral responsibility.
July 4, 2023
I was in the public library and one of the librarians was reshelving books on a cart. I saw this book and for some reason, I picked it up. I don’t know if it was the title of the book or the way it looked, but I was drawn to it. I read the first few pages standing there in the aisle and ended up checking the book out (I have since bought my own copy). This book is eye-opening and provides so many teaching moments. It provided me with an account of the Native American experience in this country, through a lens I had never looked through before. As a person of color, I felt bad that I had a minuscule idea of their plight and their HISTORY! And what a history lesson this book provided! When acts for social justice are presented in the media, it is usually through a Black, Latino, and now post-Covid Asian perspective. This book provides you with the Native American perspective. I don’t think I can ever visit a natural history museum again and not think of “repatriation”. History lesson for me – Sand Creek! Heartbreaking. If you could get a copy, read it. Yes, it’s a good read but it is also a lesson in humanity and ownership.
March 9, 2026
This was a fact filled book. Not a read necessarily for anyone. You need a basic knowledge of the material that is presented. It reads a bit like a doctoral essay/paper. It is full of thorough information regarding the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and its counterparts. The amount of documentation and oral histories is amazing. This book literally starts at the beginning of stolen artifacts, whether they be pottery, skeletal remains, or scalps. And clearly is not a read for empaths that have issues reading about the heinous acts by people against other people...regardless of their heritage. Bottom line for me is that I loved the book, learned more than I could have imagined, and gave me new perspectives on museums, archeology, paleontology, colonization, white supremacy, male patriarchy, and human the human condition.
December 24, 2020
Curator & archaeologist Chip Colwell writes about repatriation in the US in general but primarily at his own institution, the Denver Museum. He highlights the efforts of the Zuni, Cheyenne/Arapaho, Tlingit, and Miccosuke (for Calusa) to regain their ancestor's bones and ceremonial pieces. He writes with sympathy for both sides of the issue, with a focus on humanity's common desires. His book is about PEOPLE rather than objects, which is what he thinks museums are ultimately about. I'm curious to compare how he summarizes same concepts in his TED talk.
36 "I'm not surprised but saddened when our ideals result in failure."
264"No object inherently belongs in a museum."
265 The symbolism of empty spaces in museum displays
36 "I'm not surprised but saddened when our ideals result in failure."
264"No object inherently belongs in a museum."
265 The symbolism of empty spaces in museum displays
February 7, 2023
The essential problem with this book is the lack of appologies. Nowhere in this book does Chip Colwell appologise. He does not say that archaeology and anthropology began essentially as stealing anything whites could get their hands on. He keeps referring to collections but for much of the time then as now white people stole from other cultures. They didn't care who they hurt and still hurt and offer no remorse for what was taken without consent, stolen, looted or bribed with money or other items they could offer. This book should have faced up to the racism that existed and still exists in all facets of life past and present especially in the areas of archaelogy, anthroplogy and history.
November 3, 2018
Terrific Book. Colwell does an excellent job of discussing the topic and posing the interests of the stakesholders in the debate with empathy and passion. Several times while discussing the perspectives on a tough issue, I could find myself being persuaded by both sides of the argument. While he does this, he never stoops to playing devil's advocate, and shows integrity and sincere solidarity with native people. All in all, an interesting book, and a principled exploration of what is in many ways a complex topic; an exploration that manages, at all times, to center the point-of-view and human dignity of its subjects.
January 4, 2019
For anyone who has asked themselves "why does repatriation matter?" or who doesn't disagree when Indiana Jones says, "it belongs in a museum!"
Chip Colwell provides an important account on why repatriation is not antagonistic to science and why it is morally correct. Through personal accountings of 4 repatriation cases, Colwell gives a highly readable and deeply researched history of the plundering, display, and repatriation process. Ultimately he shows how the process of repatriation, first by meeting with Native American tribes and relinquishing control can foster even greater collaboration and be a bridge between cultures.
Chip Colwell provides an important account on why repatriation is not antagonistic to science and why it is morally correct. Through personal accountings of 4 repatriation cases, Colwell gives a highly readable and deeply researched history of the plundering, display, and repatriation process. Ultimately he shows how the process of repatriation, first by meeting with Native American tribes and relinquishing control can foster even greater collaboration and be a bridge between cultures.
February 18, 2022
A really excellent book about the long history of treating Native American people as non-human.
Kudos to the author Chip Caldwell, senior curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, for his willingness to work with Native people to repatriate the remains and artifacts that had been taken and stored without respect for the People.
As he states - "Ironically, repatriation, one of the most divisive controversies across Native America in the last generation, does not have to be a wedge. It can be a bridge between cultures."
And: "Yes, I consider, repatriation can resolve the clash of cultures; it can be a form of justice; it can provide a new future for museums and Native America. But we humans, even with our vast diversity of beliefs, none want our humanity to recede to nothingness.
We want to be respected. We want to be honored. We want to be remembered."
Kudos to the author Chip Caldwell, senior curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, for his willingness to work with Native people to repatriate the remains and artifacts that had been taken and stored without respect for the People.
As he states - "Ironically, repatriation, one of the most divisive controversies across Native America in the last generation, does not have to be a wedge. It can be a bridge between cultures."
And: "Yes, I consider, repatriation can resolve the clash of cultures; it can be a form of justice; it can provide a new future for museums and Native America. But we humans, even with our vast diversity of beliefs, none want our humanity to recede to nothingness.
We want to be respected. We want to be honored. We want to be remembered."
May 8, 2023
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I've had success doing that with nonfiction books in the past, but to be honest the narrator really did not inspire interest in me.
The content was interesting, but hard to keep coming back to. I did appreciate how the book was organized and I could tell the stories that were told were very intentional.
It took me a long time to get this one finished, so I think my review will be very lackluster, but to be honest I think I'd still recommend this in regular book form! It's got good and interesting information, I'm pretty sure well told, just not in a way that an audiobook makes sense.
The content was interesting, but hard to keep coming back to. I did appreciate how the book was organized and I could tell the stories that were told were very intentional.
It took me a long time to get this one finished, so I think my review will be very lackluster, but to be honest I think I'd still recommend this in regular book form! It's got good and interesting information, I'm pretty sure well told, just not in a way that an audiobook makes sense.
Read
May 20, 2024A digestible and harrowing read for anyone who has ever shuddered at the idea of being put on display, even after death. Or anyone who has ever thought about the longstanding myth of the American Indian as a thing of the past meant to be eulogized or anthropologized.
As a dumb white guy, it seems I was destined to be callous towards death and wary of the spiritual; but the anecdote about Joyce Herold openly weeping during the Whale Robe repatriation ceremony will probably always stay with me. It can be just as meaningful to different people, for different reasons, and this is perhaps one big reason why we continue living.
As a dumb white guy, it seems I was destined to be callous towards death and wary of the spiritual; but the anecdote about Joyce Herold openly weeping during the Whale Robe repatriation ceremony will probably always stay with me. It can be just as meaningful to different people, for different reasons, and this is perhaps one big reason why we continue living.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2017
A sad but interesting book. Despite NAGPRA, only 27% of all Indian remains in US collections remain “affiliated “ with existing tribes. The history of our exploitation of Indian remains is sad and tragic. As director of the Denver Museum of Natural History, Colwell knows too well the story and battles over repatriation. As Robert Cruz observed: “When a white man’s grave is dug up, it’s called grave robbing. But when an Indian’s grave is dug up, it’s called archaeology.”
April 23, 2022
Even with my 20-year legal background, the final quarter of this book got quite tedious in detailing the finer legalities of cultural association (or lack thereof) in relation to the repatriation of human remains. With a little more editing, this would easily be a 5-star book. As it stands, I learned a tremendous amount and think all Americans should educate themselves on this topic. A worthy effort.
August 27, 2023
Well researched and put together. Improved my understanding and knowledge of Native American cultural heritage, as well as the struggle to preserve tradition. It opened my mind to the concept that different cultures preserve items important to culture in different ways; one cannot impose their way of respect and preservation on another.
February 11, 2024
A general overview of NAGPRA and what effect it had on museums and Native American artifacts/remains.
I wouldn’t say I did not learn anything from this book, because I did learn some new things. But I would not consider this a very deep look at history of Native American artifacts and museums acquiring, displaying, handling them.
I wouldn’t say I did not learn anything from this book, because I did learn some new things. But I would not consider this a very deep look at history of Native American artifacts and museums acquiring, displaying, handling them.
September 1, 2024
Very readable book by an academic about a subject that can be very touchy. This is written in a very sensitive way and really shows Colwell's own change of mind on the subject at hand: Returning sacred items to the tribes they were initially stolen/or fraudulently purchased from people in tough positions.
Very moving.
Very moving.
November 2, 2025
I studied NAGPRA and other repatriation laws in brief in my undergraduate anthropology studies. Colwell expertly and respectfully delineates the foundation of white supremacy in museum collections of Indigenous remains and artifacts, the road to repatriation, and the net positive of treating human remains as Human.
March 24, 2026
A seminal work on the establishment of NAGPRA and the repatriation fight that continues to this day. So much of this book (rightfully) induces frustration and anger, but Colwell balances it brilliantly with the humanity and restorative nature that colors the repatriation process. This book genuinely gives me hope for the future of archaeology.
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