
This article explores the controversial debate surrounding repatriation laws and their impact on archaeological research. Dr. Elizabeth Weiss recounts her experiences facing academic censorship and professional retaliation after publishing a book critical of repatriation policies. She argues that prioritizing Native American oral traditions over scientific evidence hinders objective study of human remains and artifacts. The piece raises thought-provoking questions about academic freedom, the role of identity politics in science, and the future of anthropological research.

Disputes rage across campuses and the courts concerning the location and treatment of human remains from other times, places, and cultures. How do we balance the rights of protesting ethnic groups against the scientific need to study and teach medicine, ancestry, and evolution? Disposition needs to be based on the preponderance of evidence — scientific versus affiliation to modern-day claimants.

Michael Shermer speaks with anthropologist Elizabeth Weiss about woke archaeology and erasing the past, based on her book Repatriation.
Michael Shermer speaks with anthropologist Elizabeth Weiss about woke archaeology and erasing the past, based on her book Repatriation.