Who Should Own the Past?

In 1897, British forces looted thousands of objects from the royal palace of Benin, in what is now Nigeria. Known today as the Benin Bronzes, they were shipped to England and found their way into museums and private collections across Europe and North America.

Over the past few years, many museums have started giving them back. Cambridge University has agreed to return 116 to Nigeria. The British Museum holds around 900 and says the law prevents it from doing the same.

Most people’s first reaction is that the bronzes should go home. The conversation gets more interesting after that.

Who should receive them? In 2023, Nigeria’s president declared that the Oba, the traditional king of Benin and a descendant of the ruler whose palace was looted, was the rightful owner of all returned pieces. However, the museums of the west had been negotiating with Nigeria’s national museums commission, so the decree caught them by surprise, and several returns were put on hold. Nigeria's national museums commission and the Oba have since reached an agreement on custody, and returns have continued.

Do great museums serve everyone? In 2002, the directors of major museums in Europe and North America, including the Met, the Louvre, and Berlin’s state museums, signed a declaration arguing that museums “serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation.” Gathering objects from many cultures under one roof, they said, lets people everywhere encounter those cultures. They also said each request for return should be judged case by case. Critics, including the former head of Kenya’s national museums, have expressly opposed this line of reasoning.

Whose history are they? Many of the bronzes were cast from manillas, brass rings that European traders used as currency in West Africa, including to buy enslaved people. A 2023 scientific study traced much of that brass to Germany’s Rhineland.

In 2022, a New York group called the Restitution Study Group, which campaigns on behalf of Americans descended from enslaved people, went to court to stop the Smithsonian from returning 29 bronzes. Its argument is that this history ties the bronzes to the slave trade, and that descendants in the US have a stake in them. Furthermore, sending them to Nigeria and the Benin royal family would reward the slave trade a second time.

A judge refused to block the return, and the US Supreme Court later declined to hear the case. But the argument raises a real question about who these objects belong to.

Questions we’ll explore:

Is there an object from your family, or from the place you grew up, that you would feel strongly about if it sat in a museum in another country? What makes it matter to you?
In the Nigerian Benin Bronzes example, do you believe the bronzes should be returned, and if so, should it be returned to traditional King of Benin or the national museum of Nigeria?
Some museums argue that bringing the world’s art together under one roof lets people everywhere encounter other cultures, and that museums serve everyone, not only one nation. What do you find convincing in that view, and where do you think it falls short?
The fact remains that the bronzes were cast from brass rings European traders paid to Benin rulers for their cooperation in enslaving people. How does this history change the way you see them?

📍 Where: Vancouver Public Library Central Branch / L6 (690) Meeting Room (6th Floor - Room 690)

A few notes:
A note on attendance: seats are limited to 8 so that everyone has time to speak. An unexcused absence takes a seat from someone on the waitlist. If your plans change, please let us know as early as you can so we can offer your place to someone else.

On time: The session belongs to everyone equally, so I’ll make sure no single voice takes over.

On tone: This topic touches on colonial history and the slave trade. We’re here to understand each other’s views, not to win an argument.

A note on respect: Members hold religious, spiritual, and secular views, and no view will be treated as the single right one in this session. We ask everyone to listen with curiosity and share opinions based on mutual respect.

📍 Where: Vancouver Public Library Central Branch / L6 (690) Meeting Room (6th Floor - Room 690)