Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-331) and index.
Contents
Introduction -- Resistance : war gods. Only after night fall ; Keepers of the sky ; Magic relief ; Tribal resolution ; All things will eat themselves up ; This far away -- Regret : a scalp from Sand Creek. I have come to kill Indians ; The Bones Bill ; We are going back home ; Indian trophies ; AC. 35B ; A wound of the soul -- Reluctance : killer whale flotilla robe. Masterless things ; Chief Shakes ; Johnson v. Chilkat Indian Village ; Last stand ; The weight was heavy ; Our culture is not dying -- Respect : Calusa skulls. The hardest cases ; Long since completely disappeared ; Unidentifiable ; Their place of understanding ; Timeless limbo ; Before we just gave up -- Conclusion -- A note on the terms American Indian, Native American, etc.
Summary
"A fascinating account of both the historical and current struggle of Native Americans to recover sacred objects that have been plundered and sold to museums. Museum curator and anthropologist Chip Colwell asks the all-important question: Who owns the past? Museums that care for the objects of history or the communities whose ancestors made them?"--Provided by the publisher.