Undoing the legacy of colonialism in museums is complicated but essential work. Decolonizing challenges a fundamental assumption: that museums are neutral and beneficent stewards of biological and cultural material. The San Diego Museum of Man is moving toward an institutional position of decolonization, and grappling with implications across our functions. Join representatives from the board, staff and a Kumeyaay partner organization for a discussion of this initiative and its impact.

1. Michael Connolly, Guest Curator
Ben Garcia, Deputy Director
Lael Hoff, Collections Manager
Kelly Hyberger, Director of Collections
George Ramirez, Board Chair

3. • Indigenous lands,
bodies, and
possessions were
appropriated by
settlers for their own
use.
• Indigenous beliefs,
language and
cultural practices
were suppressed and
criminalized.

4. Decolonization can be
broadly defined as the
process of reversing
colonialism, politically
and culturally.
Decolonization in a
museum context means
inviting representatives
of descendant
communities to engage
with collections and
other aspects of the
museum’s function as
true partners.
Reversing colonialism
means sharing
authority with (and
sometimes ceding
authority to)
descendant
communities.

5. Bring Indigenous perspective and voice into
decision-making at all levels of the organization
through consultation, and with staff and board
appointments.
Address the history and legacy of colonialism in the
Museum (and broadly) in its policies and programs.
Include the work and perspective of Indigenous
artists, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists,
and other content experts.

6.  Collections
 Exhibits and Programs
 Operations
 Strategic Planning
 Governance
 Development
 Communication

9. Anthropology Museums have a unique relationship
to this issue.
We hold collections with unmeasurable cultural
value to indigenous communities.
We hold human remains.

11. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver,
CO; Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN; Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR;
Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC; Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, ME

12. • CEO was a drafter of
NAGPRA
• Native American art
residencies
• 12-week paid
fellowship for
emerging Native
American museum
professionals

13. • Reburial of 20
individuals from
Museum’s
collections.
• No curation of
human remains
without the consent
of the individual, next
of kin, or community.

14. • Partnership between
the Minnesota
Historical Society and
the Mille Lacs Band
of Ojibwe.
• Both groups worked
together to select a
location, an
architectural firm,
and the content of
the exhibits.

15. • Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde Center for
Native American Art
opened in 2015.
• Museum’s first Native
American curator
• Native advisory council
• Co-curated with Native
artists
• $150K IMLS Community
Anchors grant awarded
in 2014

16. • Reciprocal Research
Network
Musqueam Indian Band;
U'mista Cultural Society;
Stó:lō Nation; Stó:lō Tribal
Council; MOA
• Collections staff
practices subject to best
cultural practice

18. Collections: Coastal Indian repatriations (Feb. 27);
50+ new individuals found in collections to date; photo
and sound digitization procedures; Kumeyaay staff
member and 2 interns; retreat and discussion of
decolonization.
Operations: Casts of human remains no longer used
as decoration, all-staff trainings on NAGPRA and
decolonization.
Governance: Collections Committee central to
NAGPRA conversations; has begun to explore questions
of display of human remains.

19. Strategic planning: three Kumeyaay participants in
charrettes.
Exhibits: Naka Shin astronomy exhibit.
Programs and events: December Nights
Advocacy: Presentations at conferences and
attendance at convenings.

20. Collections: NAGPRA; Kumeyaay ancestral
repatriations
Exhibits and Programs: Kumeyaay curation of
Kumeyaay story; co-creation of school programs
and space for Kumeyaay programs (Dec. nights)
Governance: Considering a Policy on Curation
of Human Remains

21. Policy on the Curation of Human
Remains
SDMoM will only accession and/or curate human remains
when express written permission is given to do so by the
deceased individual, their next of kin, or an authorized
designee of the descendant community, and when those
remains can be used to tell appropriate and compelling
stories in support of the Museum’s interpretive goals.
SDMoM may curate human remains without the express
written permission of the descendant community, in cases
where that community can be shown to broadly support
similar curatorial activity for human remains.

22. How does this change from what we are
already doing?
Moving Beyond NAGPRA
The Museum is already committed to being in compliance with the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. We will now work to
accommodate all legitimate requests for the repatriation of human remains
from communities that fall outside of NAGPRA’s purview.
Consent for Research, Curation, and Display
For human remains where the deceased individual, next of kin or
descendant community has approved their use for research or display,
SDMoM will evaluate their applicability for a programmatic function and
will either continue to steward the remains, or deaccession them according
to our policy.
Spiritual and Cultural Care
Access to human remains will be given to spiritual or religious practitioners
so that they may provide care to the remains of their ancestors.

23. What happens when there is no next of kin or
descendant community to help determine how we
should steward an individual’s remains?
In the case of culturally and/or geographically unidentifiable human remains, the
Museum will steward these individuals in a manner that reflects standard
contemporary, local and non-denominational practices of memorialization.
This may include continuing to hold the remains in a memorialization context or
deaccessioning them for burial and/or cremation.
Decisions about the ultimate disposition of these remains will be made in
consultation with a local advisory body of funerary practitioners representing a
variety of local religious and secular perspectives.

24. What does this mean for our institution
and our collections?
1. Conversations
SDMoM will have conversations with next of kin or descendant
communities about how to most appropriately steward their
ancestral human remains.
2. Consent
The Museum of Man will only steward human remains with the
consent of the individual, next of kin, or descendant
communities. This will hold our institution to the highest
ethical standard for the curation of human remains.

26.  Relationships with descendant
communities will transform
 New visitors/stakeholders
 Alignment with field
 Leadership position/Reputational
yield
 Updated content
 Funding opportunities
 Difficult conversations - like those
we see with RACE
 Loss of visitors
 Stakeholder alienation
 Donors may worry, fewer
collections may be offered to us
 Loss of data
 Requires resources

27.  Do you have Native American and/or Indigenous
collections?
 Do you have archaeological specimens?
 Do you conduct archaeological excavations?
 Are you a general history museum?
 Are you an anthropology/archaeology-focused
museum?
 Do you have an exhibit(s) about Native American
or other Indigenous topics?
 Do you offer educational programs about Native
Americans or other Indigenous descendant
communities?
Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko,
Abbe Museum

28. Phase 1: Develop Awareness
Research/reading
Conduct conversations within departments
Ask stakeholders what decolonization means to them
Form advisory groups as applicable
Create a guiding document/philosophy
Phase 2: Create Strategy
Prioritize areas for change and create strategy for each area
Identify possible roadblocks and solutions

29. Phase 3: Implement Changes
Establish timelines and work plans
Create policies (gain highest level of buy-in possible) and procedures (all
staff can weigh in for their area)
Create communications strategy
Phase 4: Maintain and Improve
Create feedback loops
Provide training to new staff and trustees
Ongoing training will be required as with any ongoing aspect of the
museum’s function
Phases may not be sequential!!