The University of California (Berkeley) has ordered the return of new displays to native American tribes under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). That is hardly news except that the items were not human remains or relics, but corn, corn cobs, peas, beans, and other seeds. The university has decided that even such scientific samples are prohibited items of “cultural patronage.”
The Act requires the return of human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. “Cultural patrimony” is defined as “an object having ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group or culture itself.”
However, according to a federal notice, these were old corn, corn cobs and seeds, beans, and other items used for research and display by the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. They will now be returned to the Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico, a Native American tribe.
Old corn cobs linked to a Native American tribe are being removed from an anthropology museum at UC Berkeley in accordance with a federal “repatriation” law.
According to a June 4 federal notice, 24 items, including corn, corn cobs, peas, beans, and other seeds, are being removed. They were part of the collection at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. They will be returned to the Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico, a Native American tribe, to comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
The notice from the school states that “Between 1940 to 1941, George F. Carter collected 24 lots of seeds via `field research with Native American agriculturalists’ across the Southwestern United States, including Pueblo of Isleta in New Mexico.”
I understand how one can read the federal law broadly, but this seems wildly out of sync with the purpose of the law. These are plants and seeds used for field research to better understand the food chain of the early periods of life in the Americas. The use of the federal law so broadly undermines the study of these tribes.
Obviously, corn and other crop staples were key to the culture of these tribes, but so was water, wood, and other sustaining resources. I do not understand why the tribes themselves do not want to encourage such research on their heritage and history.
The university could clearly decide that it no longer needs the items or that the items hold more value to the tribes. However, to say that they are compelled under federal law is a dubious reading of the federal statute.
The College Fix quotes Elizabeth Weiss, professor emeritus of anthropology at San José State University, as objecting to the interpretation: “Objects of cultural patrimony are defined as objects that cannot be owned by a single person, and, thus, cannot be sold or given from one person to another. It is hard for me to understand how plants and seeds could fall into this category.”
This is something that the Department of the Interior, Justice Department, and Bureau of Indian Affairs should clarify in the interest of continued research and historical work in this area.
Well, knowing the Virtue Signalling left, it was the very, very least they could do to prop up their self images.
I do not understand why the tribes themselves do not want to encourage such research on their heritage and history.
That was my thought too. Why would Native Americans want steps to be taken that would erase the memory and knowledge of their history and culture. While not exactly the same, it reminds me of erasing Native American team names from sports teams. Why would tribes want modern society to be “cleansed” of these types of cultural reminders? Maybe there is a good reason, and I’m open to hearing it. But consistent with what the good Professor says, it at least seems counterintuitive.
FWIW: I am keeping my arrowhead!
This is yet another absurd push piece by Turley that serves no useful purpose other than to rile up the MAGA mob. And like Pavlov’s dogs responding to the bell, you all come running to vent your absurd opinions.
As Turley points out himself, there is in fact a federal law, NAGPRA, that requires the return of Native American artifacts, but that law is not particularly specific as to what artifacts are covered. The way the law is written is that the Native American tribes actually define which artifacts are of importance to them. The law also creates a framework for the tribes to formally petition for the return of any artifacts they deem to have cultural significance. Such a petition was in fact presented to UC Berkeley, specifically for return of the seeds and artifacts in question. In response, UC formed a committee to consider the claim, and eventually decided that they were compelled to follow NAGPRA as written.
UC Berkeley is simply following the law, but Turley and the MAGA morons here seem to think that it is outrageous that they choose to follow the law. This is typical of the lawless thinking of the MAGA cult in general and the Trump administration in particular, whereby adherence to the law is considered optional if it somehow does not align with the dogma of the MAGA cult.
The ONLY dog here is you ano.
Cry-baby.
Elizabeth Warren should be asked for her unique input as both a Senator and a Native American
More like cultural patronizing than patronage, it seems to me
Excuse me while I laugh.
It appears that the woke/prog extremists are grasping for relevancy with this. Shall we do the same for every invention that the world uses at this point. How about we force the return of all discovered ancient chariot wheel that now lays in museums to the Scythian empire? Wait, there is no extant Scythian empire these days, just as there is no Anasazi Nation these days. These academics and woke warriors are scraping the last bits of data to which they can cling to justify their relevance. I think we are tired of this nonsense and we should start clearing our world of academia of these addled old hippie warriors and their ill-indoctrinated progeny. If we stop this fish that is rotting from its head, we will eventually fumigate the entire culture of this nonsense.
It Figures. These Euro Anglo’s come and squat on Our Land (the N. American Continent) and come up with a phony Lease (The Dec. of Independence) and assume a claim on Us (Indigenous Natives – Owners). Then they manufacture a Blanket-Title (the Constitution) over it all and take everything and kill Us off (Guns Germs Steel and Economics), and now they send us some old corn cobs to make themselves feel better. I could tell you where you can put those Corn Cobs.
Pueblo of Isleta
White Eyes Shut is Estovir with another false flag post presumably by some wacky liberal. We’ve been seeing a lot of these lately.
^ The deranged moron who thinks everyone is Estovir ^
Oh, Good Lord! Sounds like someone is building a resume to run for office in CA.
Homeowner: I want to hire a worker to repair and paint my house, but that labor is worth no more than $12/hour.
Worker: Right now I’m receiving unemployment compensation from the government, but I want to get off of it and work as a painter and home repairman. However, I would need at least $12/hour to make that worthwhile for me.
Homeowner & Worker: Great, we have a deal at $12/hour. That amount benefits us both sufficiently for us to form a contract and get the worker off government welfare.
Senator Murphy: Hold up, wait a minute, no can do. I personally believe $12/hour is too low. Therefore, even though that hourly wage is acceptable to both parties of the contract, I decree that you two are not allowed to make that agreement.
Result: the work will not get done, neither party will benefit, and the worker will continue to draw public benefits funded by taxpayers.
OMFK, your example isn’t an academic exercise, it’s a true example of leftists hurting those they claim to help.
Rent control, open borders, defund the police, fight ICE from gathering up rapists etc etc. all harm the poor people.
Yes, and people who say low wages are not enough to live on, overlook that the employee is willing to accept it as better than his alternative, and moreover, most people working a low-wage job don’t live solely on the income from that job. Every little bit helps, which is why they’re willing to work for such wages. Both parties to that private contract would prefer that option not be taken away by a paternalistic, but economically illiterate, politician.
OMFK
What does that have to do with the price of corn, peas, and some shiny beads?🫣