PhD Defence Vanessa Tünsmeyer: Repatriation of Sacred Indigenous Cultural Heritage and the Law – Lessons from the United States and Canada

On 22 October 2020, at 12:00, MACCH affiliated researcher Vanessa Tünsmeyer will defend her PhD thesis “Repatriation of Sacred Indigenous Cultural Heritage and the Law – Lessons from the United States and Canada.”

Vanessa Tünsmeyer's research examines how the repatriation of sacred indigenous cultural heritage to indigenous communities can be facilitated via the law. On the basis of the experiences made in the last three decades of repatriation in Canada and the United States the research develops different repatriation models to aid legislators and museums. All of this is done against the backdrop of contemporary human rights law to help align museum and government practice with contemporary indigenous rights standards.

The PhD defence will take place in the aula of Maastricht University's main building, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, in Maastricht.