For years, visitors to the State Museum of Pennsylvania have been able to tour the museum’s extensive Native American collection, which includes thousands of sacred artifacts from Tribal Nations across the country, as well as funerary objects and human remains.
The exhibit is being dismantled and much of it is now inaccessible to the public as part of the museum’s compliance with a federal law mandating the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items held by federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has some 908 individual remains and 79,628 funerary objects in its collection, which are subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
The federal law is designed to protect Native American gravesites and human remains from desecration and give Tribal Nations a method by which to reclaim ancestral property, including human remains.
The Pennsylvania State Museum has closed its Native American exhibit
and will return thousands of artifacts and ancestral remains.
35
Euergetes [none/use name] - 4mon
had me in the first half for sure lol
14
comrade_pibb [comrade/them] - 4mon
100% mfw
8
thestranging @leminal.space - 4mon
this is the right thing to do
displaying stolen artifacts from a displaced and genocided people is not history, it's grotesque
I hope more states follow suit
13
Jabril [none/use name] - 4mon
Especially since they could easily create replicated models of any artifacts from anywhere and even pay indigenous people to do it
15
buttwater [they/them] - 4mon
Here's to hoping those tribal nations do with the artifacts how they see fit and maybe that includes displaying them for educational purposes at some museum-type location.
Was this NAGPRA written with good intentions? Or is this a trump ploy to remove Native American history from "United Statesian" museums?
13
jack [he/him, comrade/them] - 4mon
NAGPRA is far, far older than Trump's presidency and is a good thing, though very underenforced.
13
Carl [he/him] - 4mon
I'm going to assume that it's slipping under their radar for now and if they find out about it there'll be an EO or a court case designed to nuke it.
6
godlessworm [comrade/them] - 4mon
nice. now we just need to deport all the crackers back to europe and maybe things can start looking up around here. ezpz.
thelastaxolotl in indigenous
The Pennsylvania State Museum has closed its Native American exhibit and will return thousands of artifacts and ancestral remains.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/08/pa-state-museum-closes-native-american-exhibit-returns-1000s-of-artifacts-under-federal-law.htmlFull Article
The Pennsylvania State Museum has closed its Native American exhibit
and will return thousands of artifacts and ancestral remains.
had me in the first half for sure lol
100% mfw
this is the right thing to do displaying stolen artifacts from a displaced and genocided people is not history, it's grotesque I hope more states follow suit
Especially since they could easily create replicated models of any artifacts from anywhere and even pay indigenous people to do it
Here's to hoping those tribal nations do with the artifacts how they see fit and maybe that includes displaying them for educational purposes at some museum-type location.
Was this NAGPRA written with good intentions? Or is this a trump ploy to remove Native American history from "United Statesian" museums?
NAGPRA is far, far older than Trump's presidency and is a good thing, though very underenforced.
I'm going to assume that it's slipping under their radar for now and if they find out about it there'll be an EO or a court case designed to nuke it.
nice. now we just need to deport all the crackers back to europe and maybe things can start looking up around here. ezpz.