n.the historic and artistic materials created by a people as an expression of themselves and thus belonging to themMcRanor 1997, 79–80Whether this is achieved through the maintenance of these materials in non-native archival institutions in collaboration with their creating communities or by their repatriation is a determination to made in negotiation with individual First Nations. Both approaches have been advocated in the Australian archival sphere. It would seem, however, that the return of cultural patrimony should be the long-term goal in all cases.Montgomery 2010, 151As American and international officials deliberated about how to use the documents and proceed against the Iraqi regime under international law, few, if any, in the human rights or global community, much less the archival profession, challenged or questioned the legitimacy and legality of the Kurdish seizure of the documents and transport to the United States for safe storage and analysis. Few, if any, argued that Iraq’s cultural patrimony had been plundered, or that the documents had been unlawfully confiscated, or demanded their return to the Iraqi central government.Montgomery 2012, 333Beyond generally allowing the wartime capture of public enemy property for military advantage and occupation, the treaties do not specifically mention the seizure of enemy documents, normalize their custody and use, or regulate how they should be treated after the end of conflicts. Nor do they articulate or envision a transitional process from the status of captured or seized adversary property to the cultural patrimony of the country of origin. Nonetheless, generally speaking, under article 53 of the 1907 Hague Convention, the taking of such property, without compensation, is considered spoils of war.Joffrion and Fernández 2015, 220Through the cultivation of equitable and trusting relationships, tribal and nontribal archivists can discover new and alternate professional frameworks that integrate traditional knowledge and sensitive approaches to shared stewardship of Native American history and culture. Through these reciprocal relationships, we can begin to address past injustices inherent in the misappropriation and misuse of Indigenous cultural patrimony and historical documentation housed in non-Native institutions.O’Neal 2015, 12While this legislation met one of Deloria’s call to action items—funding to the tribal communities for repatriation—and significantly increased collaboration between curators, anthropologist, and tribal communities regarding the care of human remains, funerary and sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony, this law did not provide guidance or regulations regarding the care and preservation of Native American archival collections at nonnative repositories, including both tangible and intangible items.Christen 2015, 3The public domain has been a space that has been historically hostile for Indigenous peoples because much of their cultural patrimony was treated as a source of knowledge for all humankind despite its location within local cultural systems.Winn 2015, 8General users may be inconvenienced when displaced archives are stored remotely or in undisclosed locations. However, the removal of archival materials from their country of origin creates a unique hardship for users who regard the materials as their cultural patrimony.Montgomery 2015, 390Because captured enemy records often possess considerable current and future historical value, their return should be considered imperative for the preservation of a nation’s cultural patrimony.Shein and Lapworth 2016, 27Offering the resources of an established repository to employ scan-and-return stewardship of and access to digital surrogates provides a way for communities to retain physical possession of their cultural patrimony while simultaneously improving preservation and public access.
