摘要：

In 1990, Glenbow began returning sacred objects to various First Nations. As the process developed, we came to understand that First Nations people consider these to be living and to be vital for maintaining balanced relationships with the non-human world. The effects that these objects have had on a variety of other relationships (Native/museum; museum/museum; Native/Native) suggests that the items become important for everyone who handles, possesses and cares for them. This paper explores the dimensions of these relationships. Keywords: sacred object, repatriation, museums, First Nations, Blackfoot,  Introduction Important changes occurred in the relationships between museums and Indigenous peoples1 in the 1980s and 1990s. For example, in 1993, Museums Australia (then called the Council of Australian Museum Associations) adopted Previous Possessions, New Obligations as a ‘comprehensive statement of principles and detailed policies covering relations between museums and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ (Griffin 1996 Griffin, D. 1996. “Previous possessions, new obligations”: A commitment by Australian museums. Curator, 39(1): 45–62. , 45–6). The need for such a document grew out of both local issues regarding repatriation and reburial of human remains, as well as global concerns about the relationship between Indigenous peoples and museums as expressed by the International Council of Museums’ Code of Ethics. A follow-up study of Australia's policy indicates that, after a decade, the relationship had steadily improved although there are still too few Indigenous people working in museums or serving on their boards (Sullivan, Kelly, and Gordon 2003 Sullivan, T., Kelly, L. and Gordon, P. 2003. “Museums and indigenous peoples in Australia: A review of “previous possessions, new obligations: Policies for museums and in Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”. Curator, 46(2): 208–27. ). Since 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) has required museums in the USA who receive federal funding to inventory their human remains and sacred objects. It is then incumbent on them to contact appropriate Native American communities and negotiate the repatriation of this material. While repatriation had occurred before (e.g., Ferguson, Anyon, and Ladd 1996 Ferguson, T.J., Anyon, R. and Ladd, E.J. 1996. Repatriation at the Pueblo of Zuni: Diverse solutions to complex problems. American Indian Quarterly, 20(2): 251–73. ; Hoover and Inglis 1990 Hoover, A. and Inglis, R. 1990. Acquiring and exhibiting a Nuu-Chah-Nulth ceremonial curtain. Curator, 33(4): 272–88. ; Merrill, Ladd, and Ferguson 1993 Merrill, W.L., Ladd, E.J. and Ferguson, T.J. 1993. The return of the Ahayu:da: Lessons for repatriation from Zuni Pueblo and the Smithsonian Institution. Current Anthropology, 34(5): 523–67. ; Ridington 1993 Ridington, R. 1993. A sacred object as text: Reclaiming the sacred pole of the Omaha. American Indian Quarterly, 17(1): 83–99. ; Ridington and Hastings 1997 Ridington, R. and Hastings, D. 1997. Blessing for a longtime: The sacred pole of the Omaha Tribe, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ), NAGPRA made negotiations imperative. In Canada, the controversy that accompanied The Spirit Sings exhibit became a touchstone for museums to evaluate their relationships with First Nations communities. The Spirit Sings brought First Nations artifacts to Calgary, Alberta, as part of the cultural exposition accompanying the XV Winter Olympics. (Ames 1988 Ames, M. 1988. The liberation of anthropology: A rejoinder to professor Trigger's “A present of their past”. Culture, 8(1): 81–5. ; Cameron et al. 1987 Cameron, D., Harrison, J.D., Whitehead, R.H., Phillips, R.B., Brasser, T.J., Thompson, J., Driscoll, B. and Reid, M.J. 1987. The spirit sings. Artistic traditions of Canada's first peoples, Calgary and Toronto, , Canada: Glenbow Museum and McClelland and Stewart. ; Harrison 1988 Harrison, J.D. 1988. The spirit sings. Last song?. International Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship, 7:

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