Setting a sad precedent: a museum has bowed to the pressure of an
indigenous group that demanded the "return" of four artifacts that the
museum legitimately owns.
The group agrees that these artifacts were not stolen; that the
anthropologist who gave them to the museum had acquired them
legitimately. Why should the museum feel an obligation to give in?
What justification can the group present for demanding to get them
back? The article does not present any, it only cites someone who
takes this for granted. The people in that group are not the only
ones concerned here.
In general, should anthropologists obey demands to discard part of
anthropological knowledge? I contend this should require a reason
stronger than, "These artifacts are related to us so only we can have
them."