Comic book format explains Indian artifact repatriation law

“Journeys to Complete the Work” explains in comic book format the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and during San Diego Comic Fest, it was also the title of an April 21 presentation, which included San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians member Olivia Chilcote.

Chilcote, who is a professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University, was joined by archaeological illustrator and comics writer John Swogger on the panel, which explained the comic-style book intended to provide museums, archaeologists, and tribal members with references which link the legal and personal sides of the issue.

Swogger, University of Massachusetts archaeologist and anthropology professor Sonya Atalay and University of Colorado professor and museum curator Jen Shannon produced “Journeys to Complete the Work” under the NAGPRA Comics label; the first printing was in November 2017.

“Storytelling is very important,” Chilcote said.

Drawings of Atalay, Shannon and Swogger are used to explain the background, the 1990 Federal NAGPRA law and the outcome of contested claims, which also included drawings of the personnel involved in the resolution of those disagreements.

“There was complex information that needed to be broken down and digested,” Swogger said. “We wanted these stories to be grounded. We wanted it to make sense to people based on their own experience.”

The use of cartoon strip panels rather than a manual was used in an attempt to improve comprehension.

“It’s actually much easier to tell a story with a beginning, a middle and an end,” Swogger said.

The format allows academic and museum personnel, tribal members, political leaders and potentially builders to understand the requirements and limitations.

“When we put the comic together, we weren’t entirely certain who would be the audience,” Swogger said.

To this point “Journeys to Complete the Work” has had positive feedback from all who have provided input into the published product.

NAGPRA has resulted in Native American skeletal remains and artifacts being returned to tribes from museums and university collections but does not preclude the display of artifacts in museums. Luiseno culture is exhibited in display cases at Pala Casino and the Pala reservation also includes the Cupa Cultural Center, and the Barona Cultural Center and Museum provides information on the history and culture of the Kumeyaay people native to southern San Diego County, as well as northern Baja California.

“I think it comes down to a matter of tribal sovereignty,” Chilcote, who is Luiseno, said. “It’s their choice because of tribal sovereignty and self-determination to decide what they do.”

The current Luiseno concern about cultural preservation involves the building development in inland northern San Diego County, and tribes in southwest Riverside County are also seeking to protect tribal history and ancestral sites from excavation or other threats.

“I hadn’t really thought of aiming the comic book at them,” Swogger said.

In most cases if Native American sites are likely to be present, the excavation phase has a condition of archaeological monitoring, including a monitor with Native American expertise.

Swogger suggested that a comic-style poster could be placed on a construction office wall.

“I think that would be really helpful,” Chilcote said. “That needs to be the place where a lot of the activity ends up happening.”

“Journeys to Complete the Work” is currently available in English only.

“We produced this in English because it was easier,” Swogger said.

The space in the dialogue “bubbles” between the bubble boundaries and the words is thus not due to lax standards but rather to allow for future translation into Native American languages whose words are longer than their English counterparts.

“We’d really like to produce them in native languages,” Swogger said.

A bilingual edition would not only provide the information in the tribal language but could function as a translation guide between English and the indigenous language.

“I think that might be a really industrious use for comics as well,” Swogger said.

San Diego Comic Fest was created to capture the original spirit of the Comic-Con comic book and science fiction convention in San Diego which has grown to the point where many of the original Comic-Con supporters believe the original purpose has been diluted.

“Indigenous Comic-Con was a great way of getting in touch with people who not only appreciated the message but appreciated the medium as well,” Swogger said.

Indigenous Comic Con has been held in Albuquerque annually since 2016, and “Journeys to Complete the Work” was first publicly released at the 2017 Indigenous Comic Con.

“This is definitely really important work that’s going on,” Chilcote said. “We’re really excited for the next editions to come out.”