Bioarchaeology, Bioethics, and the Beothuk

Abstract

The Beothuk of Newfoundland and Labrador have been extinct since the early nineteenth century, but skeletal remains of twelve Beothuk individuals are in storage at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland, and those of another ten are in the archives of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. However, the best‐known and most widely discussed Beothuk remains reside in the stores of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. These are the skulls of Nonosabasut and his wife Demasduit, both of whom came to untimely ends through contact with European colonizers. In recent years, efforts have been made to repatriate these skulls to Newfoundland and Labrador. However, Canada has no equivalent legislation to the US NAGPRA, which provides direction with regard to “unaffiliated remains.” Who then speaks for the Beothuk? This article explores some of the ethical and legal challenges associated with repatriating the remains of now‐extinct peoples, especially when those remains reside in a foreign territory. The ongoing ethical tension between the interests of science and those of justice are addressed, and a compromise solution is proposed. [bioarchaeology, bioethics, repatriation, justice, Beothuk]

New Digs: Networks, Assemblages, and the Dissolution of Binary Categories in Anthropological Archaeology

“…These critical discussions of heritage resonate with a dialogue about “decolonizing” anthropology and archaeology—that is, critically rethinking Western social scientific categories, philosophies of history, and claims to cultural artifacts and knowledge (Hamilakis ; Pullman ; Thomas ). Joining a chorus of voices regarding North American Indigenous archaeology (e.g., Atalay, , ; Cipolla ; Colwell‐Chanthaphonh et al.…”

Fostering Responsible Research on Ancient DNA

“…70 Ethical and legal challenges can be particularly difficult when there are questions about existence or identity of culturally affiliated descendants, as in the case of the Beothuk of eastern Canada, where researchers have struggled to ethically curate human remains from an ''extinct'' tribe. 71 Fortunately, there are also noteworthy studies offering new models of co-production, collaboration, and decolonial ethics in which Indigenous peoples are working with, and often initiating, genetic studies. Examples of collaborations include the involvement of Aleut communities in genetic research on ancient and modern individuals; [72][73][74] the Metlakatla First Nation of British Columbia partnering with paleogeneticists investigating the relationship between a 5,500-year-old woman and living Indigenous peoples in the region; 24,75 and the Alaska Native communities collaborating in the analysis of a 10,300-year-old individual from On Your Knees Cave, Alaska.…”