Contested Indigenous Auctions in Paris: Native American Survivance vs. Latin American Nationalism

Wednesday, April 10, 2019
12 – 1 PM
10383 Bunche Hall

Andrew Meyer is a Visiting Research Associate at the UCLA Latin American Institute and a Ph.D. Student at L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris (EHESS).

Andrew will make a comparison between Native American tribes and Latin American nations who have both requested repatriation of Indigenous objects being auctioned in Paris, France. Similar to Native nations in the Southwest United States, countries such as México and Perú have contested sales in Paris and demanded the return of cultural patrimony that left the country illegally. However, there are many differences between the Latin American and Native North American contexts. Unlike how objects are repatriated to specific tribes and religious practitioners in the United States, Pre-Columbian items returned to countries like México are placed in national museums. Contemporary Indigenous peoples in México and Perú rarely request repatriation of objects.

Meyer will discuss why this issue is not as prevalent among Indigenous peoples in Latin America and why national patrimony varies in the United States.

Light refreshments will be available.

Co-sponsored by Latin American Institute, Institut des Amériques, American Indian Studies Center

UCLA is a tobacco-free campus. All-day parking ($12-20) and short-term parking (payable at pay stations) are available in Lots 2, 3 and 4 (enter the campus at Hilgard and Westholme avenues). For more information, call 310-825-7315.