Museums, Repatriation, and the Politics of Belonging: Decolonizing Anthropological Collections

Abstract

For over a century, museums in Europe and North America have housed vast collections of human remains,  sacred  objects,  and  cultural  artifacts acquired  during  colonial  expansion.  Long celebrated  as  repositories  of  “universal knowledge,”  these  institutions  are  now  at  the center  of  urgent  global  debates  about  justice, memory, and belonging. This review examines the growing movement to decolonize anthropological collections  through  repatriation—the  return  of cultural  heritage  to  Indigenous  and  formerly colonized  communities.  Drawing  on  key  case studies,  legal  frameworks,  and  critical scholarship,  the  article  explores  the  ethical  imperatives, political tensions, and transformative  possibilities  inherent  in  this process. It argues that repatriation is not merely about  returning  objects,  but  about  restoring relationships, acknowledging historical violence, and reimagining museums as sites of repair rather than possession.