Editing Artis (zoo) (section)

=== Ethnological Collections ===
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Artis, the zoo in Amsterdam, organized exhibitions in which not only people from the Dutch colonies, such as [[Suriname]] and [[Dutch East Indies]], but also individuals with physical features considered [[Ableism|'deviant']], were publicly displayed.

Between approximately 1902 and 1941, people from these communities were brought to Artis to live and be exhibited in specially reconstructed 'authentic' villages. These human exhibitions were presented as educational and 'true to nature,' an idea also propagated by [[Carl Hagenbeck]] — an influential German animal trader and organizer of ethnographic exhibitions. In his memoirs, Hagenbeck emphasized that the displayed groups, such as the Inuit ("guests from the far north"), were supposedly unaware that they were performing a show; according to him, they thus presented a "true copy of life in nature." In reality, this practice was part of a broader colonial ideology, in which people from other cultures were reduced to objects of entertainment and study for a predominantly Western audience.<ref>Houtekamer, T. (n.d.). ''[https://studenttheses.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12932/31100/Being%20Human%20in%20Artis.%20Developments%20in%20the%20Amsterdam%20Zoo,1902-1941,%20Timo%20Houtekamer,%203996778.pdf?sequence=2 Being Human in Artis: Developments in the Amsterdam Zoo], 1902–1941'' (Thesis, Utrecht University). Utrecht University Repository.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://historianet.nl/maatschappij/bizarre-trend-mensen-werden-tentoongesteld-in-dierentuin |title=Vernederende trend: Mensen werden tentoongesteld in dierentuin |last=clipboard |first=Gepubliceerd op 16 01 18 Door Martin Landin URL copied to |date=2018-01-16 |access-date=2025-04-28 |work=Historia |language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-04-28 |language=nl |title=Artis is ons levende koloniale erfgoed waar velen de ogen nog voor sluiten - Joop - BNNVARA |url=https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/artis-is-ons-levende-koloniale-erfgoed-waar-velen-de-ogen-nog-voor-sluiten |work=Joop}}<!-- auto-translated from Dutch by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

These practices were part of a broader European tradition of "[[Human zoo|human zoos]]," in which both people of different skin colors and individuals whose physical appearance deviated from the norm were exhibited. The extensive ethnographic collection that Artis displayed for a long time in its [[Ethnographisch Museum Artis|Ethnographic Museum]] was transferred in 1921 to the nearby [[Tropenmuseum]].

In recent years, Artis has taken steps to improve the living conditions of animals, while attention to its colonial past in educational communications has remained limited.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-04-28 |date=2020-08-07 |language=nl-NL |title='Artis, kijk je koloniale verleden in de ogen' |url=https://www.oneworld.nl/klimaat/artis-kijk-je-koloniale-verleden-in-de-ogen/ |work=OneWorld}}<!-- auto-translated from Dutch by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>