A/HRC/45/35 articles 11 and 12 of the Declaration, in this case of a ceremonial object that Danish anthropologists had long ago acquired from the Yaqui people. 44 B. Relationships between museums and indigenous peoples 61. Many museums have developed a practice of meeting their legal and ethical obligations as museums consistent with norms regarding indigenous peoples’ rights. Historically, museums were geared to house and showcase items of “exotic” cultures for the viewing pleasure of dominant societies, and the concept of indigenous peoples as visitors or partners was unfamiliar. Moving towards a human rights-based approach may therefore require a dramatic shift. In many instances, this transition begins with museums exploring cooperation with indigenous peoples as constituents, employees and stakeholders. As museums increasingly embrace indigenous peoples’ cultural rights, along with repatriation, they are also able to develop more extensive relationships, better information about collections, and collaborative programming consistent with museums’ current goals to be inclusive, diverse and relevant to today’s societies.45 62. In Brazil, the collection of the Museu do Índio includes 19,918 contemporary objects considered as expressions of the material culture of approximately 150 indigenous peoples. The Museum’s mission is to provide services to indigenous peoples whose ethnographic references are gathered in the Museum, including systematizing information relevant to demarcation and protection of territorial rights. The Museum has worked with indigenous peoples to develop protocols for the access, display and return of materials, including digital collections. Indigenous representatives have participated in the identification of photographs, restoration of pieces, identification of objects and raw materials and qualification of collections. The Museum has also trained indigenous peoples in linguistic and cultural documentation through a partnership with UNESCO. 46 The initiative was discontinued in 2019, but a collaborative platform is available. 63. In the Russian Federation, the Sheltozero Veps Ethnography Museum is a State institution, effectively governed by the Veps people in whose territory it is located. The Museum operates in a traditional Veps house and is managed by Veps individuals who are able to interpret and care for their objects and intangible culture.47 64. The Ethnographical Museum of Geneva has a strategic plan seeking new relational ethics between those that have long been described as, and opposed to each other as, collectors and collected.48 In addition to taking a proactive role in a repatriation process of Māori human remains, the Museum has sought to build relationships with indigenous peoples. One example is the Museum’s ongoing project with the Yan-nhanu people of Mooronga, in northern Australia. 65. At the State Art Collections of Saxony, Ethnographical Collections (Germany), Birgit Scheps-Bretschneider has advocated for the “rehumanization” of ancestral remains originating in Hawaii and Australia. She describes the process as: 44 45 46 47 48 (a) Changing ancestral remains from a museum object back to a human being; (b) Giving back human dignity; (c) Treating the ancestral remains with respect; (d) Finding the individual history and biography; (e) Finding out where they were at home; Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People, “Technical advisory note on the repatriation request for the Yaqui Maaso Kova”. Available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Session12/MaasoKova.pdf. See https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/bts/2020/02/17/repatriation-collaboration-and-beyond-the-spectacle/; and www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/cultural-heritage/indigenous-repatriation. See http://museudoindio.tainacan.org/ (in Portuguese). See www.visitpetrozavodsk.ru/en/travel_guide1/around_the_city/sights/sheltozero_veps_ ethnography_museum_of_lonin/. Presentation by Carine Ayélé Durand at the expert seminar. 13