Article Proposals
For this assignment, we were tasked with coming up with two potential article topics. These proposals were presented to Kate Cough, Chief Editor at Maine Monitor. I worked alongside my classmate Chloe Boulle.
Repatriation Article
Pitch 1:
In May of 2022, an unidentified human scalp was discovered listed within the auction’s inventory at Poulin’s Antiques & Auctions. The auction house, located in Fairfield, Maine was searched after the FBI obtained a federal warrant granting them access to search the premises following a report of the scalp being placed for sale. Despite being sold alongside a funerary beaded pipe bag that was clearly of Indigenous descent, the origins of the scalp were inconclusive until this January.
Following nearly three years of forensic testing, the FBI officially released a statement confirming that the scalp was “human head hairs with Asian/Native American ancestral characteristics.” However, through their intensive investigation, the FBI revealed something even more harrowing–that the scalp had been in possession of a private collector that resided in New Mexico for decades and only was brought to the auction due to their death and later consignment of their estate.
Cases such as these spark the question of what other remains or items are trapped in the private collections of individuals instead of being returned to their ancestors and tribes. In this article, we will explore the ongoing issue of private collectors and auction houses in Maine. To do this, we will look at other cases of ancestral remains that were sold between private parties, legislation that exists to prevent this issue, and the attempts at repatriating these culturally significant items.
We plan on reaching out to Poulin’s Antiques & Auctions to talk about their process of taking items to put up for sale. We also would like to reach out to the Association of American Indian Affairs to see if there is an individual we can talk to about other cases they have seen like this and the steps they take.
Pitch 2:
The recent executive orders under the Trump Administration have resulted in threats to the DEI efforts, staffing and funding of Archives and Museums nationwide. In a recent article by the Wall Street Journal, journalists spoke with U.S archivist Colleen Shogan and her top advisors at the National Archives and Records Admissions to gain an insight into how these policies are shifting the focus of museums and their exhibit designs. This includes removing indigenous groups, specific events of war, and even the presence of historic figures belonging to marginalized and often erased groups in history from exhibits and educational programs .
For our article, we want to look at if these policies have influenced and reshaped how Maine Museums handle the task of presenting and preserving items belonging to the Wabanaki tribes. Specifically, we would like to look at the Portland Museum of Art and Abbe Museum as they both showcase Wabanaki items yet have differing practices and attitudes regarding the archival and exhibition of items. The Abbe Museum is known for their prioritization of the voices of Wabanaki members, as they directly employ individuals belonging to the tribes as their administrative and curatorial staff. The Portland Museum of Art holds relevance as last year they held the first ever major exhibit by a Wabanaki Artist in a U.S fine arts museum and currently include a permanent Wabanaki exhibit in their expansion plans .
To tell this story, we hope to speak with employees of both the Abbe Museum and The Portland Museum of Art to discuss their protocols and missions when curating and showing Wabanki goods. Through performing this comparison of practices, we hope to find the answers of how to successfully honor and preserve the history and culture of the Wabanaki People. Federally funded ?
