Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains
ABSTRACT The challenges faced by indigenous peoples in repatriation negotiations vary across the globe. In 2012, three Ainu individuals launched a legal case against Hokkaido University, demanding the return of the human remains of nine individuals and a formal apology for having conducted intention...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247416000905 2024-03-03T08:48:16+00:00 Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains Nakamura, Naohiro 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247416000905 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247416000905 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 53, issue 2, page 220-224 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2017 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247416000905 2024-02-08T08:49:03Z ABSTRACT The challenges faced by indigenous peoples in repatriation negotiations vary across the globe. In 2012, three Ainu individuals launched a legal case against Hokkaido University, demanding the return of the human remains of nine individuals and a formal apology for having conducted intentional excavations of Ainu graveyards, stolen the remains and infringed upon their rights to perform ceremonies of worship. This action marked the first of such legal cases in Japan. The Ainu experienced both legal and ethical challenges during negotiations with the university; for example, while the claimants applied the Ainu concept kotan as a legal argument for collective ownership of the remains, Hokkaido University claimed the lack of assumption of rights relating to worship under the Civil Code of Japan. There has been significant progress recently on repatriation, mainly due to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the US, and several meaningful recommendations have been made to ease the repatriation process. However, such recommendations are often case specific and variations in the experiences of indigenous peoples from country to country have not been widely documented. This article discusses the challenges faced by the Ainu in repatriation negotiations in Japan, with a particular focus on the difficulties of applying indigenous customs and philosophies within legal frameworks. Article in Journal/Newspaper Polar Record Cambridge University Press Polar Record 53 2 220 224 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
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English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
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General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Nakamura, Naohiro Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
ABSTRACT The challenges faced by indigenous peoples in repatriation negotiations vary across the globe. In 2012, three Ainu individuals launched a legal case against Hokkaido University, demanding the return of the human remains of nine individuals and a formal apology for having conducted intentional excavations of Ainu graveyards, stolen the remains and infringed upon their rights to perform ceremonies of worship. This action marked the first of such legal cases in Japan. The Ainu experienced both legal and ethical challenges during negotiations with the university; for example, while the claimants applied the Ainu concept kotan as a legal argument for collective ownership of the remains, Hokkaido University claimed the lack of assumption of rights relating to worship under the Civil Code of Japan. There has been significant progress recently on repatriation, mainly due to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the US, and several meaningful recommendations have been made to ease the repatriation process. However, such recommendations are often case specific and variations in the experiences of indigenous peoples from country to country have not been widely documented. This article discusses the challenges faced by the Ainu in repatriation negotiations in Japan, with a particular focus on the difficulties of applying indigenous customs and philosophies within legal frameworks. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nakamura, Naohiro |
author_facet |
Nakamura, Naohiro |
author_sort |
Nakamura, Naohiro |
title |
Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains |
title_short |
Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains |
title_full |
Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains |
title_fullStr |
Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of Ainu human remains |
title_sort |
cultural affiliation is not enough: the repatriation of ainu human remains |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247416000905 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247416000905 |
genre |
Polar Record |
genre_facet |
Polar Record |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 53, issue 2, page 220-224 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247416000905 |
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Polar Record |
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53 |
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2 |
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220 |
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224 |
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