Contamination Beyond Pesticides in Museum Collections: NAGPRA Compliance, Collaboration, and Culturally Informed Care

Abstract

Despite the NAGPRA regulatory requirement to report known hazardous substances such as pesticides and other applications found in collections that may cause contamination to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations, museums often know little about this issue. Reporting known contamination in museums generally follows the commonly known “Western” definition of contamination as connected to chemical toxicity and the dangers presented to Tribes and museum personnel when working with contaminated collections. This definition follows the dominant system in which contamination and toxicity are understood but often omits other forms of contamination implied by the interconnectedness of beings, items, and contamination. This paper examines ways that the notion of contamination itself is interactive, implying that other forms of contamination, including spiritual and cultural, may not only threaten and cause harm to the Ancestral human remains and items under care, but also other entities that may come into contact.