The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in partnership with NDSU’s School of Education, is scheduled to host an insightful discussion titled 'Who Stewards Our History? Contested Artifacts from the Holocaust and American Indian History’ on Tuesday, Nov. 7, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Anishinaabe Theater. A reception will follow.
Jolie Graybill, NDSU’s Dean of Libraries, and Leora Auslander, Arthur and Joann Rasmussen Professor of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity and History at the University of Chicago, will delve into the debates surrounding the return of disputed objects from Jewish victims of the Holocaust and from Indigenous populations in the U.S.
The question of who 'owns' the relics of the past has gained importance as victims of persecution have worked to reclaim the right to steward and tell their histories. This talk will explore the complexities of reparations, personal ownership and national narratives as they apply to contested artifacts across these two different histories. The discussion will also focus on the importance of memory, rightful restitution and the ethical obligations associated with preserving and honoring history.
The discussion’s moderator will be Hollie Mackey, NDSU associate professor of educational and organizational leadership, and the respondent will be Robert M. Ehrenreich, director of National Academic Programs, The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The program is free and open to the NDSU community, but reservations are required.
