Native American remains returned to US from Scottish university

A Scottish university has completed what it believes to be the first international repatriation of ancestral remains to the mainland United States.

More than 150 years after they were taken, the University of Edinburgh has returned the skulls of six people from the Muscogee Nation during a formal ceremony in Edinburgh on Friday.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is a self-governed Native American tribal nation who are descendants of the Mississippian culture (800 to 1600 CE), the university said.

The tribe is now based in Oklahoma after being forcibly displaced in events, known as the “Trail of Tears”, following the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the university added.

The Muscogee Nation now includes about 103,000 people and is the fourth largest federally recognised tribe in the US, according to the University of Edinburgh.

Once the remains are returned, the Nation’s Department of Culture and Humanities will formally repatriate them to the tribe’s original homelands in the southeastern United States.

The ancestral remains were originally part of a collection belonging to Edinburgh’s Phrenological Society – a separate entity from the university – and were acquired some time before 1858, the university said.

The Phrenological Society closed in 1886 and items in its collections were transferred to the Department of Anatomy at the university.

The six skulls were given to the society by Professor W Byrd Powell (1799-1867), an American physician and believer in the 19th century pseudoscience of phrenology, the university added.

Powell studied Native American skulls, thinking he could find links between their measurements, intellect and character traits, the university said.

The university added that phrenology formulated racist theories of inferiority based on the shape and dimensions of a skull.

It added that it has long since been discredited, but ancestral remains taken from communities in order to study the theory still remain in museum collections across the world.

While not officially taught as an academic subject at Edinburgh, phrenology was supported by several influential figures, whose connections with the university gave it “legitimacy and prestige”, the university said.

It said it “continues to examine ways to address its legacy and the contemporary impact of its past”.

David Hill, principal chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation: “We have been blessed with a tremendous honour and respect from our friends at the University of Edinburgh with the return of these ancestral remains.

“What makes this occasion even more special and meaningful for us is that we had to travel over 4,000 miles and cross an ocean to receive the kind of dignity and decency that we still cannot find here at home.

“There are ancestors still not whole that are kept by institutions here in America. We can only hope that this incredible gesture by the University of Edinburgh will inspire these institutions to do the same, and move these continuing injustices in the right direction and on the right side of history.”

Professor Tom Gillingwater, chairman of anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Caring for and addressing the history of our collections is a key responsibility for the university and repatriations play a central role in this work.

“They also offer incredibly meaningful opportunities for us to work with communities around the world to build relationships and gain a better understanding of our shared past.

“I am honoured to have been able to play a part in returning these ancestral remains to the Muscogee Nation.”

University of Edinburgh principal and vice chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson said: “It has been a privilege to welcome representatives from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and to assist in returning their ancestors’ remains.

“Repatriations are an important part of our work to confront our history and we are unwavering in our commitment to continue addressing past and present racialised inequalities at the university.”