Introduction
The Vermillion Accord is a set of six clauses adopted by the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) which concerns science and the treatment of the dead. It is of high significance to the archaeological profession and Indigenous groups, and its development and adoption is a key moment in the history of the reburial movement. Created in 1989, and adopted by WAC in 1990, the Vermillion Accord was the first document developed togetherby archaeologists and Indigenous people to provide a set of principles for behavior, decision making, and mutually agreed ethical approaches to the question of archaeological (and other scientific) interest in the mortal remains of the dead. At a time of high concern around issues raised by the reburial movement, when tensions could run exceptionally high and the media represented the debate as intractably polarized, the Vermillion Accord stands out as a demonstration that “mutual understanding and respect were possible between Indigenous people...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Gunson, N. (ed.) 1974. Australian reminiscences and papers of L.E. Threlkeld, missionary to the Aborigines 1824-1859 (Australian Aboriginal Studies 40). Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.
Fforde, C. 2004. Collecting the dead: archaeology and the reburial issue. London: Duckworth.
Hammil, J. & R. Cruz. 1989. Statement of American Indians against desecration before the world archaeological congress, in R. Layton (ed.) Conflict in the archaeology of living traditions: 195-201. London: Routledge.
Hubert, J. 1989. A proper place for the dead: a critical review of the ‘reburial’ issue, in R. Layton (ed.) Conflict in the archaeology of living traditions: 131-66. London: Routledge.
- 1992. Dry bones or living ancestors? Conflicting perceptions of life, death and the universe. International Journal of Cultural Property 1: 105-27.
Jones, D.G. & R.J. Harris. 1998. Archaeological human remains: scientific, cultural, and ethical considerations. Current Anthropology 30: 253-64.
Layton, R. 1989. Conflict in the archaeology of living traditions. London: Routledge.
Mulk, I. 2009. Conflicts over the repatriation of Sami cultural heritage in Sweden. Acta Borealia: A Nordic Journal of Circumpolar Societies 26: 194-5.
Phillips, C. & H. Allen. 2010. Bridging the divide: indigenous communities and archaeology into the 21 st century. Walnut Creek (CA): Left Coast Press.
Richardson, L. 1989. The acquisition, storage and handling of Aboriginal skeletal remains in museums: an indigenous perspective, in R. Layton (ed.) Conflict in the archaeology of living traditions: 185-99. London: Routledge.
Turnbull, P. 2002. Indigenous Australian people, their defence of the dead and native title, in C. Fforde, J. Hubert & P. Turnbull (ed.) The dead and their possessions: repatriation in principle, policy and practice: 63-86. London: Routledge.
- 2010. The Vermillion Accord and the significance of the history of the scientific procurement and use of indigenous Australian bodily remains, in P. Turnbull & M. Pickering (ed.) The long way home: the meaning and values of repatriation: 117-34. New York: Berghahn Books.
Turnbull, P. & M. Pickering. (ed.) 2010. The long way home: the meaning and values of repatriation. New York: Berghahn Books.
Turner, E. 1989. The souls of my dead brothers, in R. Layton (ed.) Conflict in the archaeology of living traditions: 189-94. London: Routledge.
Watkins, J. 2003. Archaeological ethics and American Indians, in L. Zimmerman, K.D. Vitelli & J. Hollowell-Zimmer (ed.) Ethical issues in archaeology: 129-42. Plymouth: AltaMira Press.
Watkins, J., L. Goldstein, K. Vitelli & L. Jenkins. 1995. Accountability: responsibilities of archaeologists to other interest groups, in M. Lynott & A. Wylie (ed.) Ethics in American archaeology: challenges for the 1990s: 33-7. Washington (DC): Society of American Archaeology.
Weatherall, R. 1989. Aborigines, archaeologists and the rights of the dead. Paper presented at the 1989 WAC Inter-Congress, Vermillion (SD).
Zimmerman, L. 2002. A decade after the Vermillion Accord: what has changed and what has not? in C. Fforde, J. Hubert & P. Turnbull (ed.) The dead and their possessions: repatriation in principle, policy and practice: 91-8. London: Routledge.
- 2006. Liberating archaeology, liberation archaeologies, and WAC. Archaeologies 2: 85-95.
Zimmerman, L., K.D. Vitelli & J. Hollowell-Zimmer. 2003. Ethical issues in archaeology. Plymouth: AltaMira Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Fforde, C. (2014). Vermillion Accord on Human Remains (1989) (Indigenous Archaeology). In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_23
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law