Handle with care: ownership and control of ethnographic materials

Handle with Care presents a broad exploration of a wide array of problems and pitfalls inherent in the practice of anthropology, with particular focus on the question of repatriation of ethnographic materials.

Abstract

Who owns ethnographic information? The anthropologist who collects data hoping for an advanced degree, a book, scholarly articles, and/or tenure? Or the indigenous people studied, who recognize not only the value of the material to their own culture, but to the researcher's career? Handle with Care presents a broad exploration of a wide array of problems and pitfalls inherent in the practice of anthropology, with particular focus on the question of repatriation of ethnographic materials. Filled with practical, hands-on suggestions, the contributors to this collection ask difficult questions, grapple with key ethical dilemmas, and offer a simple set of recommendations that will change the way anthropologists conduct research.