Universities returning Native American remains and artifacts isn’t just about physical objects – it’s about dignity and justice

A museum curator removes a rare Native American Chumash basket from California, circa 1800, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., in 2003. MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Many universities and museums in the U.S. have long held Native American burial artifacts, other sacred objects and even human remains.

Most of these collections were acquired in the late 19th and 20th centuries. They came from grave excavations, anthropological research and other practices carried out without the consent of Native American communities.