Editing Museum (section)

=== Repatriation of human remains ===
[[File:Museum exhibit, Provincial Museum, Normal School.jpg|thumb|An exhibition of the remains of Native Americans at the [[Royal Ontario Museum]] in 1908]]In the United States, the repatriation of human remains from museum collections is shaped by the [[Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act]] (NAGPRA), enacted in 1990. This law requires museums and federal agencies to identify, inventory, and return [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] human remains and associated funerary objects to lineal descendants, tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/index.htm |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act {{!}} Indian Affairs |url=https://www.bia.gov/service/nagpra |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.bia.gov}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-01-29 |title=US museums cover Native American displays as revised federal regulations take effect |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/01/29/us-museums-nagpra-native-american-displays-new-regulations |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.theartnewspaper.com |language=en}}</ref> Recent updates to NAGPRA have introduced stricter timelines and require museums to obtain consent from descendant communities before displaying or researching human remains and cultural items.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Field Museum Alters Cultural Galleries in Response to Updated Federal Regulations - Field Museum |url=https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/press/field-museum-alters-cultural-galleries-in-response-to-updated-federal-regulations |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.fieldmuseum.org}}</ref> Many museums have responded by covering displays and increasing consultation with affiliated tribes while reviewing collections for compliance. Despite these efforts, challenges remain, including incomplete inventories, limited resources, and difficulties in establishing cultural affiliation for some remains.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brewer |first=Logan Jaffe,Mary Hudetz,Ash Ngu,Graham Lee |date=2023-01-11 |title=America's Biggest Museums Fail to Return Native American Human Remains |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/repatriation-nagpra-museums-human-remains |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref>

In Europe, repatriation of human remains also reflects changing ethical standards and public attitudes, but the process is shaped by a patchwork of national laws, institutional policies, and international agreements. In the United Kingdom, the Human Tissue Act 2004 allows national museums to return human remains under certain conditions, and several institutions have repatriated remains to Indigenous communities, including those in Australia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Merritt |first=Eve Collyer |date=2025-03-07 |title=Human body parts for sale, on display and in collections: Law, policy and campaigns for repatriation |url=https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/human-body-parts-for-sale-on-display-and-in-collections-law-policy-and-campaigns-for-repatriation/ |language=en-GB}}</ref> In Germany and France, museums follow guidelines that encourage transparency, consultation, and case-by-case assessment of repatriation requests, especially for remains acquired in colonial contexts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jean-Nabbache |first=Simon |date=2022-07-01 |title=Toward the Repatriation of Human Remains as a Postcolonial Museum Practice: The Return of Toi Moko from France to Aotearoa New Zealand |url=https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/museum-worlds/10/1/armw100115.xml |journal=Museum Worlds |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=193–198 |doi=10.3167/armw.2022.100115 |issn=2049-6729|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":7">Heeb, B., Ahrndt, W., Schnalke, T., Wesche, A., Sarah Fründt, Stephan Schiffels, Andreas Winkelmann, Thode-Arora, H., Thielecke, C., Geißdorf, M., Lenk, C., Pickering, M., Ayau, E. H., Alma Nankela, & Jeremy Silvester. (n.d.). ''Guidelines care of human remains in museums and collections''. https://www.museumsbund.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dmb-leitfaden-umgang-menschl-ueberr-en-web-20210625.pdf</ref> Some institutions emphasize the scientific value of retaining remains, while others prioritize engagement with source communities and cultural restitution. The process remains complex, involving legal, political, and ethical considerations, but there is growing pressure from the public and governments for museums to address colonial legacies and return human remains to descendant communities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=Is it ever ethical for museums to display human remains? |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240118-is-it-ever-ethical-for-museums-to-display-human-remains |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":7" />