Exhaustive Notes on Cultural Restitution and the History of Human Remains in Museums

Conceptual Framework of the Crime: The speaker establishes that the context of museum collections involves not just inanimate objects but the "trafficking of bodies." These institutions, labeled as "museum-scientific institutions," have systematically captured, conserved, and displayed what are described as "human narratives" or human remains.
Acquisition Methods: Scientist-facilitated acquisition occurred through direct markets or by purchasing bodies across Europe to serve research purposes.
The Case of Sarah Bartman:
- Biography: Born in Southern Africa, she was subjected to exhibition and prostitution in London and subsequently in Paris.
- Post-Mortem Treatment: Following her death in $1815$ , her corpse was purchased for $17$ pieds by Cuvillé for the Museum of Natural History.
- Display History: Her genital organs, a body mold, and her skeleton remained on public display at the Musée de l'Homme until $1974$ .

The Case of Mangi-Mali:
- Identity: A war chief who resisted the colonial Reich in the region of and was executed in $1900$ .
- Status of Remains: His skull has never been exhibited or identified; it remains stored in museum reserves despite decades of restitution requests from descendants in Tanzania and activists in Germany.
Ideology of the "Missing Link": The speaker identifies a Western obsession with locating a human ethnic group that represents the transition from ape to human civilization. This obsession fueled various racist theories (e.g., related to Judaism and other cultures).
Racism in Collecting: The act of collecting human remains from other cultures is described as an expression of indigenous European hegemonic racism. The speaker argues that the acquisition of these remains serves to assert a perceived superiority over the culture from which the remains were taken.

Restitution of Sarah Bartman ( $2002$ ):
- Timeline of Mobilization: Citizen mobilization in South Africa lasted $50$ years, and Nelson Mandela personally campaigned for the return for $11$ years before the French State finally complied.
- Legal Hurdles: The restitution of Sarah Bartman did not set a legal precedent in France. Scientific collections, which include human remains, are currently classified as "inalienable" by law, similar to cultural artifacts.
The Scale of Anthropological Collections:
- The speaker describes a visit in $2015$ to $3$ museums, including a museum in Dries, which houses a massive anthropological collection of $6,000$ bodies (narrated as $6,000$ faces).
- Administrative Violence: A group of Arabalians has formulated formal restitution letters every year since $1991$ ( $25$ years as of the visit mentioned), only to receive either a rejection or no response. This is characterized by the speaker as "enormous violence."

Post-Independence Efforts ( $1964$ - $1968$ ): African states continued to fight for independence and the recovery of their objects and ancestors.
Panafrican Cultural Festival of Algiers ( $1969$ ): This event gathered hundreds of thousands and resulted in a manifesto with categorical demands:
- The recovery of art objects and archives looted by colonial powers.
- An end to the "hemorrhage" of cultural assets leaving the continent.
- Support for all forms of corporal and cultural creation.
Museums as Pillars of Modern Nations: New states adopted the philosophy that a modern nation cannot exist without museums and monuments to write "sovereign narratives."
Case Study: Ekpo Eyo and Nigeria:
- Archaeologist Ekpo Eyo founded the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
- He attempted to buy back Benin Bronzes when they appeared on the market, despite their prohibitive prices.
- In $1972$ , he launched official restitution demands to England (The British Museum), the United States, and the Navy, but the British Museum refused to return anything.

Resistance from Major Institutions: Since $1974$ , major museums have resisted restitution by using the legal argument of inalienable heritage and positioning themselves as "guardians of time." They often dismiss restitution requests as short-sighted political maneuvers.
The Double Standard of Shared Heritage:
- The speaker notes that ethnographic collections in the West are "public property" belonging to the people, yet Western nations would never accept their own Christian heritage (e.g., Medieval Virgins, ivory or wooden Christ figures) being held exclusively in African museums.
- There is a lack of parity or sharing of Western objects within African museums.
Critique of Universalism: The concept of the "universal museum" is criticized as a political tool used against restitution. It views Africa as being "outside the world" (hors monde), whereas the act of restitution aims to disqualify this exclusion.

Shifting Museum Models: Since the $1990$ s, some European museums have closed, dispersed funds, or stored away human remains. Some have rebranded as "World Culture" museums, often adopting aestheticized presentations of "masterpieces" (chefs-d'oeuvre) to replace traditional ethnography.
The Musée du Quai Branly ( $2006$ ): Established with $75,000$ African pieces in reserve and initially $0$ restitution programmed. The institution is described as a repository of French taste and a collection of arts from Africa, Asia, America, and Oceania.
The Sabre of Omarthane:
- Context: Omarthane was a Sufi scholar and war chief who founded an empire across Mali, Senegal, and Guinea, resisting French conquest.
- Restitution process: His family had requested the return of his saber since the $1990$ s. Following the Sarr-Savoy report, the saber was reclassified from "war booty" in the Musée de l'Armée to an icon of West African resistance and returned to Senegal/Dakar $2$ years after President Emmanuel Macron's announcement.

Formal Requests at Quai Branly: When asked if the Musée du Quai Branly receives restitution requests, the representative stated they do not receive "formalized" requests from individuals or groups. They operate as "musées de France" under state tutelage.
The Risk of Self-Conservation: The director acknowledges that museums often risk just "conserving themselves" (narratives, careers, and methods). She advocates for changing "conservation" to "conversation" by opening doors to "rage" and "conflict" rather than fearing it.
The Humboldt Forum: Located in a reconstructed Prussian imperial palace in Berlin, it holds hundreds of Benin Bronzes. It is described as a symbol of colonial history now facing immense pressure for restitution from Nigeria.