Format: Panel discussion
Convenors:
Michael C. Westaway, Archaeology, School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia
Michael L. Blakey, Institute for Historical Biology, Department of Anthropology, William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
In 2022 the American Anthropological Association convened a Commission to consider new and higher ethical standards for the treatment of human remains (DNA and blood samples, tissue samples, skeletal remains, and cemeteries) by archaeologists and biological anthropologists in the field, museum, or laboratory. With additional support of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the Burrows-Welcome Fund, Global Listening Sessions were held with colleagues and representatives of indigenous people and other groups historically subjected to anthropological collection. The Commission sought to gain their perspectives on past and present anthropological treatment of their ancestral remains. By and large, their assessment was critical of the objectification of ancestral remains and demanded the informed consent of lineal descendants and descendant communities or culturally-affiliated groups. The Commission for the Ethical Treatment of Human Remains released an extensive report in 2024 with guidance on how such new standards can be achieved in the conduct of anthropological research or memorialisation. This workshop invites WAC participants to discuss the Commission’s results towards their further world-wide consideration and refinement. Three Commission members will present key aspects of the Report followed by open conversation with participants:
Commission Presenters:
Sabrina Agarwal, Department of Anthropology, University of California-Berkeley, USA
Michael L. Blakey, Institute for Historical Biology, Department of Anthropology, William & Mary, USA
Kisha Supernant, Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Canada
Rachel Watkins, Department of Anthropology, Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, USA