NYC Museum of Natural History Forced to Close Native American Exhibits Because of Biden’s New Tribal Consent Laws
“If it’s not on public display, it robs the people of a chance to learn about a culture of great historic importance to this country.”
Did Elizabeth Warren have anything to do with this new policy?
The New York Post reports:
Biden’s new tribal consent laws force NYC Museum of Natural History to close Native American exhibits
History lovers slammed the American Museum of Natural History for shuttering all its Native American-related displays Friday, with one disappointed historophile saying the now-empty major exhibition halls and display cabinets show “history being made secret.”
“People come here to learn and see the displays,” Dan Shoop, 60, told The Post as he wandered the eerily abandoned halls dedicated to the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains.
“If it’s not on public display, it robs the people of a chance to learn about a culture of great historic importance to this country.”
The shocking evacuation started just hours after museum director Sean Decatur announced the changes in a letter to staff Friday morning.
“The halls we are closing are artifacts of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples,” Decatur wrote in the missive obtained by The Post.
“Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others,” he added.
The closures will result in almost 10,000 square feet of exhibition spaces being off-limits to visitors, the New York Times noted.
In compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the AMNH stripped the displays of its Native relics with plans to ship them back to the tribes they once belonged to.
Shoop said he raced to the museum after hearing the news to view the exhibits for the last time.
“It cheapens it for all of us,” the Hells Kitchen native said. “I think it’s a shame because there’s a lot of history being made secret.
“As I look around — these are basket-weaving displays and over there is snowshoe making — I wonder how much of this display is particularly disrespectful to religious beliefs. It doesn’t seem to be ceremonial,” he added, noting his hopes the displays would make a return.
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Comments
It’s not “Biden’s new law”. Congress passed the law unanimously, 23 years ago! It’s been the law ever since, but it was not being enforced. All Biden’s done is finally make regulations to enforce it. The museum had 23 years to get itself in compliance, but it refused to; now it suddenly has no choice so it’s doing it abruptly.
Human beings should not be on public display, anywhere. Just because someone’s dead doesn’t mean their dignity need no longer be respected. They deserve to be put back in the ground where they belong.
This new crackdown goes way beyond displaying human remains. The museum is covering up cultural items.
If an item was stolen from a tribe, and the tribe still exists and wants it back, then it should be given back. And if the museum wants to display it, it should ask their permission.
The widely-held notion that the Jews’ Breastplate is in the British Museum was invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There is no reason to suppose it true. But supposing it were true, I think it would be offensive and morally wrong for the museum to display it, and if some hypothetical representative of the Jewish nation wanted it back the museum ought to be required to return it. Likewise there is no reason to suppose the Vatican has the Temple Menorah or any other Temple artifact, but supposing it did then it ought to be required to return it to the Jews, and it certainly would have no right to put it on public display.
“I think it’s a shame because there’s a lot of history being made secret.”
Show me the video of you speaking up when they were melting down Stonewall and Robert E.