MSU explores Indigenous repatriation through film and conversation

In a joint hosting effort by the MSU Museum and the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, there will be events held across campus during the week of Indigenous Peoples Day. Both events will be held Friday, Oct. 16, and will explore Indigenous cultural preservation and the ongoing work to return ancestors and cultural belongings to Tribal communities.

The first event, “Bringing Them Home: A Tribal Panel on Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Repatriation and Collections Across Campus,” featuring a panel of Tribal members, will take place in the Commons at the MSU Museum from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m. The panel will provide an opportunity for the community to connect with speakers and talk about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, and repatriation efforts connected to collections across MSU.

Later that evening, the conversation will continue through film with “Broad Underground: Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild],” a 2026 film directed by Ojibwe Adam and Zack Khalil. The event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in Wells Hall, Room B122. This film is presented through Broad Underground, an ongoing collaboration between the MSU Broad Art Museum and the MSU Film Studies Program in the Department of English that brings together experimental film, video and new media to spark conversation.

Together, the two programs offer MSU community members opportunities to consider repatriation from multiple perspectives. Both events are free and open to the public.