In search of others: the history and legacy of 'race' collections

Nineteenth and early twentieth-century scientific interest in the origin and diversity of humankind focused on the measurement and comparison of the skeletal, and sometimes soft tissue, remains of what were then considered different ‘races’. Firmly situated within the race paradigm, such interest led to the removal of human remains from Europe and around the world. Tracing the history of such collections and the scientific interest in them informs understanding of what became known as ‘the reburial issue’, a term coined when Indigenous groups began to request the return of their ancestors’ remains, and these requests were denied.Copyright Information: Oxford University Press 201

Provenancing Indigenous Human Remains for Repatriation- DNA and Indigeneity Symposium

In Australia, DNA research has yet to be used for the purposes of repatriating Indigenous ancestral remains, but it is beginning to be discussed, particularly in relation to those remains with no, or little, provenance information available within archival sources. This presentation considers the use of "biological" markers of identity in repatriation to illuminate perceptions of Indigenous identity, the need for greater sophistication in research translation, and the implications (both real and potential) if greater understanding is not achieved and communicated. Dr. Cressida Fforde is Deputy Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies at Australian National University.&nbsp

'Australian Aborigine Skulls in a Loft in Birmingham, It seems a Weird Thing': Repatriation work and the search for Jandamarra

Jandamarra is a significant figure in Australian history. An individual of historical and contemporary importance to Bunuba people, the story of his life and death also holds meaning for many Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, particularly in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. As with a number of Aboriginal leaders, he was pursued and shot by the police, and his head was removed and sent overseas. Since 2002, a research project has been underway to try to locate Jandamarra�s remains. This has resulted in establishing that his skull was in a private museum in Birmingham in the 1960s. This museum was dismantled in the late 1960s, and while many of its contents have been located, Jandamarra has yet to be found. The search for his remains has been disadvantaged by a lack of paper trail but has benefited from oral history. This chapter details the research processes required to reveal part of Jandamarra�s post-mortem history and illustrates the significance and method of fine-grained historical research in the repatriation sector. The chapter also contributes to knowledge about the acquisition of Aboriginal human remains by small private museums in the UK, about which currently little is known

Profit And Loss: Scientific networks and the commodification of Indigenous Ancestral Remains

This chapter is the first substantial examination of the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century commercial trade in Indigenous Ancestral Remains. Previous scholarly research has focused on networks of donation, gift and patronage. Although noting its presence, such scholarship has failed to realise the prevalence of commercial dealings or explore its nature and extent. This chapter focuses on the various mechanisms involved in this arena of commercial dealings and breaks new ground in the mapping of economic incentives behind the removal of human remains and the subsequent �chain of supply�. It argues that this commercial network can be justifiably identified as an economy

Dignified Relationships: Repatriation, healing, and reconciliation

Repatriation has been identified as important for healing and reconciliation, but there has been little exploration of how this occurs. Drawing on extensive interviews in the Torres Strait, Kimberley and Ngarrindjeri country, this chapter explores and elucidates this relationship. Indigenous specific concepts of country, health and wellbeing are identified as key components as are universal human needs for the return of the dead and the grieving process to be complete. The chapter explores the role of memory and collective identity and considers the concept of dignity as a useful lens through which to understand more deeply the intricate relationship between repatriation, healing and reconciliation

Investment in prisons: an investment in social exclusion? Linking the theories of Justice Reinvestment and Social exclusion to examine Australia's propensity to incarcerate

Much of the conceptual space occupied by Justice Reinvestment theory suggests clear links with the theoretical framework of Social Inclusion and therein understandings of the social determinants of health. This article seeks to explore this mutually interested and unified relationship, and furthermore examine how their combined adoption in Australia would provide benefits for the general population as well as those in contact with the criminal justice system. Despite the existence of consistently strong links between social disadvantage and imprisonment, it is apparent the social determinants of health have yet to adequately address their implications for incarceration. Forming these links, this article will introduce and explore the notion of the social determinants of incarceration. Moreover, the importance of the social and economic imperatives to be realised through the adoption of Justice Reinvestment ideals will be argued, in turn providing explanation for why the coalescing of Justice Reinvestment and Social Inclusion is fundamentally important to consider. Therefore, we hope to prompt insightful questioning of our current institutional processes such as: Is investment in new prisons really investment in social exclusion

Sharing Reflections on Repatriation: Manchester Museum and Brighton negotiations, a decade on

This chapter considers two repatriation �moments� � the return of Aboriginal Ancestral Remains from two museums in the UK: the Manchester Museum at the University of Manchester in 2003 and Brighton Museum in 2009. Both institutions held Ngarrindjeri Old People, as well as the remains of people from other Australian Aboriginal communities. The chapter considers these events by drawing on conversations between two people closely involved: Major Sumner, an elder of the Ngarrindjeri nation of South Australia, and Tristram Besterman, then director of Manchester Museum. The chapter contributes to a growing body of work that provides personal reflections on involvement in repatriation, and seeks to offer insights in to the friendships often forged because of them. In doing so, it all seeks to consider a little discussed (even taboo) aspect of repatriation in scholarship: the presence and significance of emotion in repatriation events

Provenance research and historical sources for understanding Nineteenth-century scientific interest in Indigenous human remains

The nineteenth century saw the proliferation of scientific literature in the form of academic journals, popular journals, magazines and newspapers. Buried within this literature is a myriad of information on the discovery, collection and discussion of Ancestral Remains. Over the last thirty years, much of this material has been digitised and become word searchable. This transformation has opened up new capacities for provenance research into ancestral remains. This chapter acts as a guide to the nineteenth-century literature and explains the type of provenance information that researchers can find within the literature. The chapter also charts the growth in scientific literature and some of the various networks that sat behind the different nineteenth-century publications to provide contextualising information for the provenance researcher

Investment in prisons: an investment in social exclusion?

Much of the conceptual space occupied by Justice Reinvestment theory suggests clear links with the theoretical framework of Social Inclusion and therein understandings of the social determinants of health. This article seeks to explore this mutually interested and unified relationship, and furthermore examine how their combined adoption in Australia would provide benefits for the general population as well as those in contact with the criminal justice system. Despite the existence of consistently strong links between social disadvantage and imprisonment, it is apparent the social determinants of health have yet to adequately address their implications for incarceration. Forming these links, this article will introduce and explore the notion of the social determinants of incarceration. Moreover, the importance of the social and economic imperatives to be realised through the adoption of Justice Reinvestment ideals will be argued, in turn providing explanation for why the coalescing of Justice Reinvestment and Social Inclusion is fundamentally important to consider. Therefore, we hope to prompt insightful questioning of our current institutional processes such as: Is investment in new prisons really investment in social exclusion?•Dr  Jill  Guthrie  is  a  Research  Fellow  with  the  National  Centre  for  Indigenous  Studies  at  The  Australian   National  University.  Her  research  interests  lie  in  the  relationship  between  health  and  the  criminal  justice   system.  Professor  Michael  Levy  is  a  public  health  physician  with  international  and  national  experience  in   prisoner  health  as  a  clinician  and  researcher.  He  is  currently  Director  of  Justice  Health  in  the  Australian   Capital  Territory.  Associate  Professor  Cressida  Fforde  is  Deputy  Director  at  the  National  Centre  for   Indigenous  Studies  at  The  Australian  National  University.  Her  research  interests  lie  in  the  relationship   between  identity,  discourse  and  the  criminal  justice  system. &nbsp