Many different culturally significant artifacts are currently being held in places like the British museum. The British Empire doesn’t exist anymore, however, Britain still holds the culturally important artifacts from the lands they pillaged and stole from. In this way, the British museum, and others like it, are simply the trophy rooms of settler colonialism. The British Museum is nothing without the cultural artifacts that were stolen from others from centuries ago. For these reasons, and many more, the British museum must return the cultural artifacts
“Artifacts hold symbolic historical and cultural roots in their creations and must be repatriated in order to honour those roots and the people who have evolved from them. Repatriation is the act of returning someone or something to its country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship,” according to Seisen.
Role Reversal
If the roles were reversed, if white people’s cultural artifacts were taken by an African museum, there would be outrage. Imagine if the Mona Lisa was held in an African museum and they refused to give it to a European museum.
This is the situation for so many of the important artifacts. Many of these artifacts are worth millions of dollars, so not only is the British museum holding African culture, it is holding African wealth.
(Flickr CC0)
Maintenance
One of the major arguments against giving back cultural artifacts is the idea that many African nations won’t be able to take care of them properly. There are a few problems with this assertion.
First, one must assume that all African nations are simply a bunch of clans in huts fighting over sticks. This idea isn’t true, there are many wealthy nations in Africa. Which means that many of these artifacts can and would be taken care of.
Imperialism
Furthermore, if an African nation doesn’t have the means and or wealth to take care of a cultural artifact, one must wonder why that is. Africa is full of natural resources like precious metals, gems, and oil. So, why exactly wouldn’t an African nation be able to take care of something like a statue.
The only reason an African nation wouldn’t be able to take care of something like a mask is because they are being actively exploited for its resources. This is to say, that maybe Europe should give more than simply cultural artifacts back. It should give the wealth it stole from the global south as well.
“Today, the global North drains from the South commodities worth $2.2 trillion per year, in Northern prices. For perspective, that amount of money would be enough to end extreme poverty, globally, fifteen times over. Over the whole period from 1960 to today, the drain totaled $62 trillion in real terms,” according to Aljazeera.
Identify Discuss and Take Action
Finally, if, “but white people need it for study,” matters so much, then one can simply make faithful remakes of the pieces. Or, they will have to go to the nation these cultural artifacts and ask for permission to study the artifact. If the nation says no, they said no. This is how nations treat other nations and their artifacts with respect instead of privileging whiteness on the global stage.
Furthermore, the way to fix this problem can begin in three steps. the first step is to identify artifacts that belong to other cultures. This step is a complicated process because of the complex historical backgrounds of many artifacts. However, this step is important because it is these very same culturally significant pieces that are the topic of discussion. Next, is to open a dialogue with the cultures and nations in which these artifacts call home.
This part is important because it places the cultures on equal grounds with the white institutions currently in ownership of the artifacts. Next, is to decide what is to happen to these artifacts eased on what that culture would prefer. If they want that artifact back, give it back, and all the profits that the museum made by having it on display. This isn’t the only solution. However, it is a solution to an important problem that must be solved by any means necessary.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
Seisen: Why Artifacts in Museums Should Be Repatriated by Nidhi Ponkshe
Aljazeera: Rich countries drained $152tn from the global South since 1960 by Jason Hickel, Dylan Sullivan, and Huzaifa Zoomkawala
Britannica: Western colonialism
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Linda De Volder’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Diane Main’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
