cultural heritage

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Mad Scramble in US Museums on Native American Displays

New rules handed down by Biden administration prohibit such exhibits without consent from tribes

(Newser) - Museums across America have started closing exhibits highlighting Native American artifacts in an attempt to comply with new Biden administration rules that mandate venues get the OK from Indigenous tribes before displaying those samples. The requirements under the updated Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act , originally passed in 1990,...

Art Dealer Bought This for $26.8M. Then the Louvre Said No

France leans on law aimed at keeping culturally significant works close to home

(Newser) - The art world saw another bidding war recently, this time over Basket of Wild Strawberries, a sweet 18th-century still life by Jean Chardin. While the artist’s previous record was a mere $8 million, this one went for $26.8 million, reports ARTnews. But before the New York art dealer...

UNESCO Counts Cultural Sites Damaged in Ukraine

UN agency has reminded Russia of its obligation to avoid harming protected places

(Newser) - While the fighting rages in Ukraine, UNESCO is assessing the damage being inflicted on the nation's cultural sites. The agency announced that it's confirmed damage during the Russian invasion to at least 53 sites through Saturday, NPR reports, mostly in the north or east of Ukraine. "This...

136 Years Later, French Sending Maori Head Home

Rouen Museum displayed mummy for 136 years

(Newser) - A mummified Maori head is finally going home, after 136 years on display at a French museum, reports AP . The Rouen Museum, which has little information about how it acquired the head from a mysterious Parisian in 1875, had agreed to return its head in 2007, but was blocked by...

Uproar Over Whale Sushi Just Ridiculous

Outrage at foreign preferences just 'gastronomic nationalism'

(Newser) - Sure, the owners of a Los Angeles-area sushi restaurant broke the law if they indeed served whale meat, but those in a tizzy had “better wipe that morsel of moral superiority from your chin,” Japhy Grant writes . At the root, it’s a culture disconnect: Eating whale is...

Hotel Owner Forces Latino Employees to Change Names

NM innkeeper forbids speaking Spanish

(Newser) - A hotel owner who demands that Latino workers change their names to Anglicized versions and not speak Spanish in his presence is causing a stir in New Mexico. Larry Whitten laid down the law: Martín (mahr-teen) and Marcos are now just Martin and Mark, and employees he considered insubordinate...

UN's Dance Dance Resolution: Protect the Tango

Cultural tradition placed on protected list, as with physical heritage sites

(Newser) - The tango is a cultural treasure worthy of the same kinds of protection as the Great Wall of China or the California redwoods, the United Nations declared today. The dance, submitted for such recognition by Uruguay and Argentina, “embodies and encourages diversity and cultural dialogue,” the UN Educational,...

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