Reflections on changes in museums and the conservation of collections from indigenous peoples

Museums housing collections from indigenous peoples are changing their role and direction vis-a-vis the communities that originated their collections. Such changes mean new ways of working in museums and new demands placed on the collections. The author analyzes why these neu directions represent challenges to conservation ethics, practice, and values and situates these challenges in the context of current realities in museum practice. The author concludes that the challenges have influenced the role and outlook of ethnographic conservators as well as their views on what is significant to preserve, who is involved in preservation, and haw it is done.