ERIC Number: EJ844800
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Dec
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0895-4852
EISSN: N/A
Scholarship vs. Repatriationism
Springer, James W.
Academic Questions, v19 n1 p6-36 Dec 2005
The effect of law on research and scholarship is amply illustrated by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and other statutes, which, when they impel reburial of archaeological discoveries, result in a very real sacrificing of our past. In this case, the Act seems driven by a misguided notion that anthropology is not the dispassionate pursuit of knowledge, but the persistent urge of powerful white men to oppress Indians. The claim that tampering with prehistoric relics disturbs spirits is much too eagerly embraced by our judges and bureaucrats from the legal briefs of native activists and entrepreneurs, who could have no ancestral or any other ties to the remains. James W. Springer laments the crucial scientific data lost through such folly. (Contains 104 notes.)
Descriptors: Cultural Maintenance, American Indians, Anthropology, Whites, Scholarship, Archaeology, Legislation, Beliefs, Dietetics, Diseases, Racial Discrimination, Oral Tradition
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A