NOTE: The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital has cancelled this event. ************************** Jacob Nayinggul, an Aboriginal elder from Arnhem Land in northern Australia, knows that bones of his ancestors were stolen by scientists in 1948. For sixty years they were held by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC as part of a large collection of human anatomy. When the Smithsonian finally agrees to repatriate the bones, Jacob Nayinggul creates a new form of ceremony. Wrapped in paperbark, the stolen bones — and with them the ancestors' spirits — are welcomed home and put to sleep in the land where they were born. Post-screening discussion with Martin Thomas (Co-director), Joshua Bell (Curator of Globalization, Director of Recovering Voices Program, and Acting Director of the National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural History), and Laurie Burgess (Associate Chair of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History). Co-presented as part of the Environmental Film Festival. Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio description are available with two-weeks advanced notice. To request this service, please call (202) 633-5238 or e-mail NMNHAccessibility@si.edu. This event is wheelchair accessible. |