The American Museum of Natural History Currently Has 1,200 Skeletons in Question
For years, the American Museum of Natural History has displayed over 1,200 human remains for its visitors to learn from.
Source: Flickr
However, information has come to light that suggests many of these skeletons were actually Native Americans and enslaved Black Americans who did in no way “donate” their remains to science.
The Skeletons May Have Been Robbed From Graves
Sadly, it seems that many, if not all of these 1,200 remains may actually have been robbed from the graves of Native American and enslaved people around the country.
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Of course, robbing graves for skeletons is not only completely immoral, it’s also wildly illegal.
Robbing Native American Graves Became So Common an Organization Was Created to Stop It
It’s incredibly disappointing to report that the practice of robbing Native American graves became so common that an organization needed to be created to protect them.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior
Today, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) works tirelessly to ensure all stolen human remains from Native American graves are returned to their resting places.
NAGPRA Has Already Worked with the American Museum of Natural History
Several years ago, NAGPRA contacted the American Museum of Natural History and asked it to return its illegally obtained Native American human remains.
Source: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
But apparently, the museum only returned 1,000 of the 2,200 remains it had on display, keeping the other 1,200 remains now in question.
Some of the Bones Are Suspected to Have Been Stolen From a Manhattan Cemetery of Enslaved People
While many of the 1,200 remaining skeletons may belong to Native Americans, several academics argue they some could have also been taken from a Manhattan cemetery that housed former slaves.
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Apparently, in 1903, a collection of skeletons were stolen from the cemetery by construction workers and then mysteriously misplaced.
No Legal Acts Exist to Protect Remains of America’s Enslaved
Unfortunately, there is no organization such as NAGPRA to ensure the remains of previously enslaved Americans are returned to their original resting places.
Source: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Museum president Sean Decatur explained why this reality is especially disappointing: “The legacy of dehumanizing Black bodies through enslavement continues after death in how those bodies were treated and dehumanized in service of a scientific project.
Mysterious Third Set of Skeletons Also Needs Investigation
Researchers believe they know which remains were taken from the Manhattan cemetery of the enslaved and which belonged to Native Americans, but there is a third set that also needs to be investigated.
Source: Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images
So far, they believe that the 400 skeletons in question were once impoverished people of New York City who died in the 1940s, but researchers are eager to find out who they really were.
Sean Decatur Explained Exactly Why Removing the Bones Is So Important
President of the American Museum of Natural History Sean M. Decatur spoke to the press to explain in his own words why this action is so important.
Source: Linkedin
“None of the items on display are so essential to the goals and narrative of the exhibition as to counterbalance the ethical dilemmas presented by the fact that human remains are in some instances exhibited alongside and on the same plane as objects,” Decatur said.
Most Historians Agree They Need to Understand Where These Bones Came From
Decatur certainly isn’t alone in his assessment, as most historians agree it’s completely essential they know exactly where these bones came from
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Historian Cole Thompson told the press, “I felt like the bones should be repatriated.” And Decatur said it perfectly when he said, “Figuring out the answers to exactly what we have here, and how to actually describe that as completely as we can, is something that is important to do moving forward.”
Without the Human Skeletons, the American Museum of Natural History Still Has Plenty of Displays
Most people are incredibly proud of Decatur and the museum’s decision to remove all human remains until they find out exactly where they came from.
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And fans of the American Museum of Natural History will still have a wide variety of interesting and informative displays to enjoy in the meantime.
Will the Skeletons Be Returned to the Museum?
Sean Decatur has not yet announced if any of the human remains will be returned to their display after their investigation is complete.
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However, it’s likely that the only human skeletons that will be shown in the museum will be those that have been explicitly donated to science or can be verified as not having belonged to Native American or enslaved people.