When Bonnie M. Seymour began working at the Parthenon as Registrar and Assistant Curator, she found 255 pre-Columbian artifacts. He realized that they were of Mexican origin and that this museum is for Greek history and Tennessee Centennial history, not Mexican history. I knew they should be removed from the collection. And then, what he thought first was that they should return to Mexico.
However, the road was not quick. Each repatriation case is different, there are so many obstacles in each one, but there must be commitment, collaboration and discussion. In this case, two years had to pass before the session was approved on May 7 and the Consul General of Mexico came to return them to Mexico, where the Museum of Anthropology and History will be able to add them to its collection.
These pieces were donated to the Parthenon museum and include small ornaments with zoomorphic images, ceramic pots, musical instruments and hand tools, pieces of obsidian and jasper that are several thousand years old and date from the Preclassical or Archaic period of Mesoamerica, beginning in 3500 BC The artifacts were donated to the Parthenon in the 1960s and 1970s.
There are admirable people and Bonnie is one of them. Instead of leaving the artifacts, she recognized how important it was to return them to their place of origin because, in her words, “they are someone's story. They represent someone's ancestors, and we are not them. Mexico has a history of people taking their things and having huge gaps in their history, and while returning them won't fill them completely, it will help do so. In some cases it can help restore a missing culture and can fill in gaps that people have questions about their past.”
Bonnie understands that the community is made up of everyone and that this helps strengthen ties. If you want to respect your fellow man, these are the things you need to do. We are all working together as a society and we must act accordingly. As she began the repatriation process, she discovered that returning this to where it belongs means a lot to her. The idea of returning cultural heritage to its origins is really important. Some of her best memories were going to Day of the Dead celebrations and hanging out with all the colors and textures.
So I just wanted to share that. And in the exhibition of “Repatriation and its impact,” he had the collaboration of the artist José Vera, who with his colors and three-dimensional pieces gave life to the concept of what repatriation is, and that it is not an abstract idea, but rather it is something that impacts people on a personal level, but also impacts government, politics and the law.
As Mayor Freddie O'Connell said, “this is a great example of what others can do when motivated people work in our metro government departments and agencies, with the interest of the public and private sectors, all together to do what correct. We believe that this is a victory for the museum, for international relations and our great friendship with Mexico.”
At the meeting, they had the opportunity to talk about the law that goes into effect July 1 related to reporting arrests of undocumented immigrants. And the message to our immigrant and refugee community, our Spanish-speaking community, would be to not change anything in your behavior. Our expectation is that we will be a safe and welcoming city for anyone who chooses to live here. We believe the Metro Nashville Police Department will not change anything in their process. We believe the Sheriff's Office will not change anything and this is backed by the law. Said Mayor Freddie O'Connell, to which Mexican Consul Javier Díaz de León added that in recent days, he has had the opportunity to meet at the Sheriff's Office and the Police Department. Both said they have no plans to change anything in terms of procedures. The only people who should be worried are criminals, those who have criminal records on their record. But if that is not your situation, you are just an immigrant who works here, which is the case for the vast majority of people, there will be nothing that will change for them after July 1. So with your help we tell people not to take action or make drastic changes in their lives without having good information.
This July 14 there will be a big farewell party for the pieces at Centennial Park with food, mariachi, Aztec dances and, of course, the exhibition. Do not miss!
Thanks, Bonnie, for the interview and the pictures
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