The New York Museum of Natural History has decided to remove human remains visible in its exhibits, including those of indigenous people and former black slaves.
A new storage location will be provided for the 12,000 human remains, according to a letter from museum president Sean M. Decatur, obtained by CNN.
“We must realize that, with the exception of those who donated their bodies to medical schools for further study, no individual has agreed to have their remains included in the museum’s collection,” he wrote in his letter to staff.
The museum has therefore updated its collecting policy, under which it is now prohibited to acquire “an object or object collected or recovered in circumstances that would support or encourage irresponsible damage to or destruction of archaeological sites or cultural monuments or desecration of heritage human burial sites.”
Skeletons and mummies will be removed from 12 display cabinets, along with musical instruments and beads made from human bones.
“None of the pieces on display are deemed so essential to the exhibition’s goals and narrative as to balance the ethical dilemmas posed by the fact that human remains are, in some cases, displayed alongside and on the same level as human remains,” Mr. Decatur added.
«It is agitated and, in certain cases, victims of violent tragedies or representants of groups that are abused and exploited, and causes widespread exposure to exploitation», also specified.
