Dr. Stephen Aron delivering his lecture, “Removal, Reparation, Repatriation, and Reconciliation,” at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza branch.
Dr. Stephen Aron, a specialist in the history of frontiers, borderlands, and the American West, delivered a lecture at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza branch earlier this week. The event, “Removal, Reparation, Repatriation, and Reconciliation,” was the inaugural program of the Kansas City Monuments Coalition (KCMC) lecture series. Attended by the public, UMKC students, and KCMC partners, the lecture is available to watch online.
Aron began by discussing the use of the word “removal” in contemporary discourse regarding the U.S. government’s treatment of Indigenous peoples in the wake of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, instead recommended verbiage such as “ethnic cleansing” or “expulsion.” He then provided an overview of late 20th-century and early 21st-century initiatives aimed at reparations for Indigenous peoples, highlighting both their achievements and their failures. Aron, who assumed leadership of the Autry Museum of the American West in 2021, was also able to provide insights into the nature of repatriation, a term that in recent years has been increasingly used to describe not just the return of land to Indigenous peoples but also the return of art and artifacts by museums. The fourth portion of Aron’s lecture was dedicated to the restorative possibilities for both museums and Indigenous peoples when reconciliation is pursued more holistically. “With trust earned through generous returns,” Aron said, “museums can forge a new compact with Native peoples built on mutual respect, shared stewardship, and joint exhibition making.” The lecture concluded with a chance for audience members to ask Aron questions.
Director, president, and CEO of the Autry Museum, Aron is also Professor Emeritus of History at UCLA. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author of numerous books, including most recently Peace and Friendship: An Alternative History of the American West.
