Truth-telling, Ancestral Remains and the Establishment of a National Resting Place in Australia

Payne, AM; Norman, H

Truth-telling, Ancestral Remains and the Establishment of a National Resting Place in Australia

Payne, AM Norman, H

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Publisher:: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: International Journal of Transitional Justice, pp. ijad021

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Payne, AM
dc.contributor.author	Norman, H
dc.date.accessioned	2023-10-29T23:18:54Z
dc.date.available	2023-10-29T23:18:54Z
dc.identifier.citation	International Journal of Transitional Justice, pp. ijad021
dc.identifier.issn	1752-7716
dc.identifier.issn	1752-7724
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/172891
dc.description.abstract	<jats:title>ABSTRACT∞</jats:title> <jats:p>This article explores the potential for truth-telling and healing created by the recently announced National Resting Place for Indigenous Ancestral Remains in Australia. The return of Indigenous Ancestral Remains provides the opportunity to make redress for past wrongs, and to reflect on the attitudes which informed the dehumanizing practices of their past collection and display. Indigenous Ancestral Remains are critical to truth-telling in Australia as by their very existence and materiality they disrupt colonial narratives about terra nullius. However, human remains are also a powerful reminder of the limits of human rights processes. We consider the potential of the National Resting Place as a new Australian site of truth and memory to disrupt the traditional ‘museum’ model and to restore the dignity and respect owing to previously objectified human remains.</jats:p>
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Oxford University Press (OUP)
dc.relation.ispartof	International Journal of Transitional Justice
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1093/ijtj/ijad021
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.rights	This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in [International Journal of Transitional Justice, pp. ijad021] is available online at: http://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijad021
dc.subject	1606 Political Science, 1801 Law
dc.subject.classification	4408 Political science
dc.subject.classification	4803 International and comparative law
dc.subject.classification	4807 Public law
dc.title	Truth-telling, Ancestral Remains and the Establishment of a National Resting Place in Australia
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1606 Political Science
utslib.for	1801 Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/FASS Faculty Administration
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2025-10-24T00:00:00+1000Z
dc.date.updated	2023-10-29T23:18:53Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online

Abstract:

ABSTRACT∞ This article explores the potential for truth-telling and healing created by the recently announced National Resting Place for Indigenous Ancestral Remains in Australia. The return of Indigenous Ancestral Remains provides the opportunity to make redress for past wrongs, and to reflect on the attitudes which informed the dehumanizing practices of their past collection and display. Indigenous Ancestral Remains are critical to truth-telling in Australia as by their very existence and materiality they disrupt colonial narratives about terra nullius. However, human remains are also a powerful reminder of the limits of human rights processes. We consider the potential of the National Resting Place as a new Australian site of truth and memory to disrupt the traditional ‘museum’ model and to restore the dignity and respect owing to previously objectified human remains.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/172891