Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits

Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America’s Culture

By: Chip Colwell

Narrated by: Chip Colwell

Who owns the past and the objects that physically connect us to history? And who has the right to decide this ownership, particularly when the objects are sacred or, in the case of skeletal remains, human? Is it the museums that care for the objects or the communities whose ancestors made them? These questions are at the heart of Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits.

Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage.

This book offers his personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics.

©2017 Chip Colwell (P)2022 Tantor

Very Informative, Well Written

Chip dies a great job laying the groundwork for layfolks to understand the history and implications of NAGPRA for both anthropologist/museums and Native American peoples without bogging you down in the details. This books is full of understanding and compassion for both sides, while still showing the justice and inclusive benefits of repatriation. Excellent book, full of emotion and information on such an important topic.