Latest news with #MacGillivray
CNN
29-03-2025
- General
- CNN
Remains of murdered Australian Aboriginal man repatriated by British university
The skull of an Aboriginal man who is thought to have been killed by colonizers in the early 19th century has been returned for burial in Tasmania from a British university. The remains of the unidentified young man will be laid to rest in a ceremonial burial on the Australian island on Friday, the University of Aberdeen said in a statement published Wednesday. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which will hold the long-delayed burial, was first contacted by the Scottish university in 2019 with a proposal for repatriation. This was approved the following year. Details of how the university came to be in possession of the skull – which is missing its lower jaw – are limited, the university said. What is known is that it was part of the collection of William MacGillivray, professor of natural history at Marischal College, a forerunner of the modern Aberdeen University. When MacGillivray died in 1852, the university bought his collection. The sale catalog from that purchase described the remains as belonging to a 'native of Van Diemen's Land, who was shot on the Shannon River.' Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name for Tasmania. There is no surviving record to explain how the skull was acquired. It was initially kept in the university's comparative anatomy collection before being transferred to its human culture collection in the early 2000s. Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used to teach medicine. According to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which is quoted in the university statement, there is 'no doubt that this skull was removed from the man shot at the Shannon River in order to service (the) trade in Aboriginal body parts.' It went on to say of the killing, which probably took place in the 1820s or 1830s: 'The decapitation was most likely performed by one of the killers, stock-keepers, property owners or lessees involved in or associated with the man's murder.' While the man's identity is unlikely to ever be established, the statement said, he is known to have been part of the Big River tribe, which was completely wiped out. Andry Sculthorpe, of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, stressed the importance of repatriation. He said: 'Aboriginal people feel the enormous responsibility of restoring to our own country both the physical remains, and through them, the spirits of our ancestral dead. 'This is a record of racist attitudes to the study of humanity, including human remains acquired by grave robbing and other immoral activity; in this case, murder. 'We applaud the institutions that have the courage to let go of their perceptions of intellectual supremacy, embrace their own humanity and do what is right by the people who are most impacted by the atrocities they have inflicted in the past. This young man's murder will not be forgotten and we will bring him home to rest at last.' The University of Aberdeen said it has 'a well-established procedure for considering repatriation from the collections in its care' and previous returns have included a Benin bronze, returned to Nigeria in 2021. Neil Curtis, the university's head of museums and special collections, said: 'Given the violence and racism that led to their acquisition, it would be unacceptable for these ancestral remains to be used for research, teaching or exhibitions purposes. 'We are pleased that the remains of this young man can now be handed over to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for appropriate burial in his homeland.'
CNN
19-03-2025
- General
- CNN
Remains of murdered Australian Aboriginal man repatriated by British university
The skull of an Aboriginal man who is thought to have been killed by colonizers in the early 19th century has been returned for burial in Tasmania from a British university. The remains of the unidentified young man will be laid to rest in a ceremonial burial on the Australian island on Friday, the University of Aberdeen said in a statement published Wednesday. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which will hold the long-delayed burial, was first contacted by the Scottish university in 2019 with a proposal for repatriation. This was approved the following year. Details of how the university came to be in possession of the skull – which is missing its lower jaw – are limited, the university said. What is known is that it was part of the collection of William MacGillivray, professor of natural history at Marischal College, a forerunner of the modern Aberdeen University. When MacGillivray died in 1852, the university bought his collection. The sale catalog from that purchase described the remains as belonging to a 'native of Van Diemen's Land, who was shot on the Shannon River.' Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name for Tasmania. There is no surviving record to explain how the skull was acquired. It was initially kept in the university's comparative anatomy collection before being transferred to its human culture collection in the early 2000s. Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used to teach medicine. According to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which is quoted in the university statement, there is 'no doubt that this skull was removed from the man shot at the Shannon River in order to service (the) trade in Aboriginal body parts.' It went on to say of the killing, which probably took place in the 1820s or 1830s: 'The decapitation was most likely performed by one of the killers, stock-keepers, property owners or lessees involved in or associated with the man's murder.' While the man's identity is unlikely to ever be established, the statement said, he is known to have been part of the Big River tribe, which was completely wiped out. Andry Sculthorpe, of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, stressed the importance of repatriation. He said: 'Aboriginal people feel the enormous responsibility of restoring to our own country both the physical remains, and through them, the spirits of our ancestral dead. 'This is a record of racist attitudes to the study of humanity, including human remains acquired by grave robbing and other immoral activity; in this case, murder. 'We applaud the institutions that have the courage to let go of their perceptions of intellectual supremacy, embrace their own humanity and do what is right by the people who are most impacted by the atrocities they have inflicted in the past. This young man's murder will not be forgotten and we will bring him home to rest at last.' The University of Aberdeen said it has 'a well-established procedure for considering repatriation from the collections in its care' and previous returns have included a Benin bronze, returned to Nigeria in 2021. Neil Curtis, the university's head of museums and special collections, said: 'Given the violence and racism that led to their acquisition, it would be unacceptable for these ancestral remains to be used for research, teaching or exhibitions purposes. 'We are pleased that the remains of this young man can now be handed over to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for appropriate burial in his homeland.'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remains of murdered Australian Aboriginal man repatriated by British university
The skull of an Aboriginal man who is thought to have been killed by colonizers in the early 19th century has been returned for burial in Tasmania from a British university. The remains of the unidentified young man will be laid to rest in a ceremonial burial on the Australian island on Friday, the University of Aberdeen said in a statement published Wednesday. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which will hold the long-delayed burial, was first contacted by the Scottish university in 2019 with a proposal for repatriation. This was approved the following year. Details of how the university came to be in possession of the skull – which is missing its lower jaw – are limited, the university said. What is known is that it was part of the collection of William MacGillivray, professor of natural history at Marischal College, a forerunner of the modern Aberdeen University. When MacGillivray died in 1852, the university bought his collection. The sale catalog from that purchase described the remains as belonging to a 'native of Van Diemen's Land, who was shot on the Shannon River.' Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name for Tasmania. There is no surviving record to explain how the skull was acquired. It was initially kept in the university's comparative anatomy collection before being transferred to its human culture collection in the early 2000s. Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used to teach medicine. According to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which is quoted in the university statement, there is 'no doubt that this skull was removed from the man shot at the Shannon River in order to service (the) trade in Aboriginal body parts.' It went on to say of the killing, which probably took place in the 1820s or 1830s: 'The decapitation was most likely performed by one of the killers, stock-keepers, property owners or lessees involved in or associated with the man's murder.' While the man's identity is unlikely to ever be established, the statement said, he is known to have been part of the Big River tribe, which was completely wiped out. Andry Sculthorpe, of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, stressed the importance of repatriation. He said: 'Aboriginal people feel the enormous responsibility of restoring to our own country both the physical remains, and through them, the spirits of our ancestral dead. 'This is a record of racist attitudes to the study of humanity, including human remains acquired by grave robbing and other immoral activity; in this case, murder. 'We applaud the institutions that have the courage to let go of their perceptions of intellectual supremacy, embrace their own humanity and do what is right by the people who are most impacted by the atrocities they have inflicted in the past. This young man's murder will not be forgotten and we will bring him home to rest at last.' The University of Aberdeen said it has 'a well-established procedure for considering repatriation from the collections in its care' and previous returns have included a Benin bronze, returned to Nigeria in 2021. Neil Curtis, the university's head of museums and special collections, said: 'Given the violence and racism that led to their acquisition, it would be unacceptable for these ancestral remains to be used for research, teaching or exhibitions purposes. 'We are pleased that the remains of this young man can now be handed over to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for appropriate burial in his homeland.'
CBC
06-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Students encouraged to register as stem cell donors, help save lives at UPEI event
Social Sharing With 1,000 Canadian patients waiting for lifesaving stem cell transplants, students on the Island are being asked this week to help give them a better chance of survival. Canadian Blood Services is calling on those between the ages of 17 and 35 to register as potential stem cell donors. On Feb. 7, students can join the national stem cell registry at the Swab at School event at UPEI's W.A. Murphy Centre from 12 to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Last year's campaign saw significant support, with 2,000 more people than expected joining the registry, the blood donor service said in a release. This year, it hopes to swab 3,000 students across the country over two weeks. Deborah MacGillivray, a community development manager with Canadian Blood Services, said younger donors are ideal because they provide better outcomes for patients. "There's more stem cells in a younger person. There's also more stem cells in men versus women too. So we highly recruit, we highly encourage those men to stop by our booth as well," she told CBC News. Quick and easy process MacGillivray said signing up is simple. Students can bring their smartphones to the W.A. Murphy Centre, scan a QR code, and complete a short eligibility quiz. After providing contact information and performing four buccal swabs, their samples are sent to a lab. Once registered, they remain on the list until their 60th birthday. If a match is found, donation is similar to giving blood, but will take more time. She said normally, with a blood donation, a person would be in and out of the donor center within an hour. Donating stem cells can take about four hours, but most people can return to regular activities the next day or within a couple of days. "If you are in Atlantic Canada, it would happen out of Halifax and all travel accommodations and everything would be supplied to you," she said. A need for more diversity MacGillivray said stem cells are used to treat more than 80 diseases and disorders, including leukemia, lymphoma and aplastic anemia. She added that Canada's national stem cell registry needs more diversity to increase the chances of finding matches for all patients. According to Canadian Blood Services, stem cell transplant patients find better matches within their ethnic group, and so students who come from an ethnically diverse or mixed-race background may be life-saving donors. MacGillivray said when a patient needs a stem cell transplant, doctors first look to their family for a match, but there's only a 25 per cent chance of finding one among siblings. "After that, 75 per cent of the time you are going to receive a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor, and that is what we are recruiting," she said. Matches are based on HLA — human leukocyte antigen — markers, which are inherited from parents. "It's almost like finding your doppelgänger in the world that you never knew that you had," she said. "It's very difficult." She noted a recent success story from a university in the Maritimes, where four students were called upon to donate their stem cells, which is a rare occurrence, as many registered donors may never receive such a call.
