Culture Wars and the Fight Over Looted Artifacts

Priceless artwork and tribal artifacts have made their way across the globe through several means, some legitimate and others … not so much.

While we rely on these objects to tell us about history, tradition and culture, the way they end up in our communities sometimes raises questions about what should happen to them, where they rightfully belong and how the legal system can get them home.

Congress has passed laws regulating what should happen to items taken from tribes without their permission, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The water gets muddier internationally though, as political drama takes center stage.

In this episode, we take a trip across the globe to see how this issue plays out in different communities.

The Founders Museum in Barre, Mass. is grappling with how to properly return moccasins, dolls and clothing from the Wounded Knee Massacre to the Lakota, which lost nearly 300 people in December 1890. Down the street, the Worcester Art Museum uses art once stolen by Nazis in World War II to show the difficult task of getting back Richard Neumann's renowned art collection. We also break down communications between Austria and Mexico over a storied feathered Aztec headdress.

Special guests:

• Ann Meilus, president of the Barre Museum Association
• Manny and Renee Iron Hawk, Lakota members of HAWK 1890, a society for the survivor descendants of the Wounded Knee Massacre
• Shannon O’Loughlin, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, and CEO and attorney for the Association on American Indian Affairs
• Claire Whitner, director of curatorial affairs and curator of European art at the Worcester Art Museum
• Wesley Fisher, director of research for the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and the World Jewish Restitution Organization
• Jennifer Kreder, law professor at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Bill Dotinga, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.