{"title":"Sacred to the Memory: Relicization and the Cataloging of Franklin Expedition Objects in Museums","authors":"Ashley Smith","doi":"10.1111/muan.70016","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70016","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Between 1818 and 1845, the British Navy sent expeditions to Inuit Nunangat (Canadian Arctic) in search of a passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. In 1845, the Franklin Expedition, consisting of 129 officers, crew, and marines, ended in disaster with all 129 lives lost. When the bodies could not be recovered, the expedition's debris took on a near sacred role in British society. This collection is referred to as the Franklin Relics; akin to those of Christian saints. This process of “Relicization” has resulted in a knowledge gap about the context, uses, and repurposing of these objects that is detrimental to understandings of the expedition, all while enabling the colonial cult of Polar Heroism to persist through interpretations and ongoing colonial narratives embedded in museum records. This paper examines the ways in which these objects have been collected and interpreted through a case study of a small collection of Franklin objects held in the Vancouver Maritime Museum.</p>","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/muan.70016","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145102319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Art Grows Rooted: Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge as an Art Historical Methodology for Native North American Material Culture","authors":"Rose Taylor","doi":"10.1111/muan.70015","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70015","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This article explores traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and suggests how TEK could be used as a methodological approach for understanding Native North American art and material culture stewards in museum collections. Drawing on theories by Native North American scholars and object examples, the paper argues that using this methodological approach as a curatorial framework can elicit a deeper understanding of objects as repositories of stories and kinship and the relational dynamics between people, the environment, and their material culture.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145101246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Relics of Science: Nonhuman Bodies in Natural History and Zoological Museums","authors":"Natalia Schwien Scott","doi":"10.1111/muan.70014","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Natural history museums function as pedagogical showrooms for science. They operate within the contemporary framework of the biological sciences—presented as secular, value-free, and devoid of social influence. However, I argue the practice of preserving and displaying bodies carries not only an epistemological lineage but also an ontological one. In this paper, I consider the function of preserved bodies in both Catholicism and natural history museums, exploring correlations in their respective developments, methods of collection, documentation, and presentation, as well as the contexts of relationality between human people and nonhuman dead bodies. Through this examination, I argue that, much like the fragmentary remains of saints, these reconstructed nonhuman bodies manifest a new kind of relic, weaving together the past and present through their own special powers of resurrection, reconstitution, and miraculous healing through the engagement with materiality.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145102380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reconceptualizing Repatriation as the Power to Decide","authors":"Rebecca L. Bourgeois, Kisha Supernant, Neha Gupta","doi":"10.1111/muan.70012","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70012","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Repatriation in Canada is highly situational, with relatively few regulations in place to assist Indigenous communities in returning their cultural belongings home, let alone to protect their rights as stewards. This paper provides a public policy analysis of repatriation regulations in Canada, with special attention paid to the situation they present to the public, to recommend areas for change. We juxtapose these findings with Indigenous repatriation policies and an ethnographic case study partnered with the Tłı̨chǫ Government, which reinterprets repatriation using Tłı̨chǫ traditions for caring for cultural heritage. We focused on two areas of inquiry concerning (1) the identification of existing conflicts between western and Indigenous repatriation directives (e.g., laws, policies, and regulations); and (2) the exploration of repatriation as imagined through an Indigenous lens. Our findings show that we must reconceptualize repatriation from an exchange between two parties into the reclamation of the power to decide how heritage is managed by descendant communities. Contrasting policy analysis with ethnographic data, we found that such a reorientation can only be achieved through both practice and law reform aimed not at strict regulation, but at providing a secure basis upon which Indigenous communities can resituate themselves as recognized stewards of their cultural heritage at home and afar.</p>","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/muan.70012","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145102370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Indigenous Liberators, Vrijheidsmuseum (Freedom Museum), Groesbeek, the Netherlands, May 2, 2025 to November 30, 2025","authors":"Stasja Koot","doi":"10.1111/muan.70013","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70013","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This review analyses the exhibition <i>Indigenous Liberators</i> at the Vrijheidsmuseum in Groesbeek, the Netherlands. The exhibition explores the often neglected role of North American Indigenous soldiers in the liberation of the Netherlands in World War 2. <i>Indigenous Liberators</i> shows how Indigenous participation was motivated by diverse factors, from resisting fascism to asserting cultural identity. Despite facing discrimination in the military, many Indigenous soldiers also experienced a rare sense of equality during the war. Additionally, the exhibition effectively positions the Indigenous contribution within colonial histories and the postwar struggle for recognition. Furthermore, personal stories, artefacts, video interviews, and educational materials at <i>Indigenous Liberators</i> challenge stereotypes and enriche our understanding of Indigenous agency in global history while contributing to public awareness.</p>","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/muan.70013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145102046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Public Presentations of Plants: Colonial Legacies and Indigenous Perspectives in the Botanical Gardens of The Huntington","authors":"Vibe Nielsen","doi":"10.1111/muan.70009","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In light of recent demands to diversify and decolonize museums, which have influenced curatorial practices the world over, this article examines how the botanical gardens of The Huntington in Southern California communicate colonial legacies of their plant collections to the visiting public. Building on previous fieldwork-based research on colonial legacies and curatorial practices, the article aims to shed light on an area of museum studies that has so far not been researched as thoroughly as other parts of the museum world. Through examples from the <i>Borderlands</i> exhibition at The Huntington, as well as signs recently added to the displays of the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, the article shows that—although colonial legacies and Eurocentric descriptions remain present in public presentations of plants—efforts <i>are</i> being made to address these legacies and to include Indigenous names and perspectives in the text panels and plant signs of botanical gardens.</p>","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/muan.70009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145101353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Curious Devices and Mighty Machines: Exploring Science MuseumsBy Samuel J. M. M. Alberti, London: Reaktion Books, 2022. 272 pp. £25.00 (hardcover). ISBN: 9781789146394 (hardcover); 9781789146400 (ebook)","authors":"Cornelia Thompson","doi":"10.1111/muan.70011","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145100964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Working Through Colonial Collections: An Ethnography of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin. By Oswald, Margareta, Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press, 2022. ISBN: 978-9-46-270310-0 (Paperback)","authors":"Jaanika Vider","doi":"10.1111/muan.70006","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145100855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Radical Laughter: To be Seen, to be Heard Exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology","authors":"Raven Begell-Long","doi":"10.1111/muan.70007","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article is a review of the <i>To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965</i> Exhibition at the Museum of Anthropology, situated on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm—Musqueam traditional land at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. Co-curated by Maria Crosby and Karen Duffek.</p>","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/muan.70007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145101051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Man, Myth and Museum. Iorwerth C. Peate and the Making of the Welsh Folk Museum. By Eurwyn Wiliam, University of Wales Press, 2023. 218 pp. ISBN 9781837720392, £25.00 (Paperback)","authors":"Sabrina N. Autenrieth","doi":"10.1111/muan.70008","DOIUrl":"10.1111/muan.70008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43404,"journal":{"name":"Museum Anthropology","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145102224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}