HR0211 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0211 LRB104 12755 LAW 23907 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes are a collection of several thousand metal plaques, sculpture heads, jewelry, and other objects that adorned the royal palace of the Oba, or king, of the Benin Kingdom, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria; they were made of brass, leather, wood, and ivory by Edo artists from the 12th to 19th centuries; and

WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes hold profound spiritual, historical, and cultural significance to the Edo people; however, the 16th to 19th century brass relics hold particular cultural and ethnical significance to heirs, also referred to as descendants, of enslaved captives because this group of relics, referred to as "slave trade Benin Bronzes", were created through the melting and refabrication of metal manilla currency exchanged for their captive ancestors who were sold to European transatlantic slave traders by the Benin Kingdom over a 300-year period; and

WHEREAS, During the Punitive Expedition of 1897, the slave trade Benin Bronzes were taken by British forces to cover the cost of a retaliatory war in response to the Benin Kingdom committing a massacre against an unarmed party of 12 British envoys and 250 African porters, which left only a few survivors; and

WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes are currently held in various museums and private collections around the world, including one-quarter of the known relics being located in the United States, with the third largest collection in the world, consisting of 393 pieces, being held at the Field Museum in Chicago; while most of the slave trade Benin Bronzes are blood metal bronzes, their slave trade origins are not shared and remain largely unknown to the world; and

WHEREAS, Benin Kingdom heirs have been engaged in a repatriation effort of the Benin Bronzes since 1933, calling for the return of the slave trade Benin Bronzes for moral reasons; however, heirs of enslaved Africans have required modern technology to trace their DNA to Benin Kingdom captives and officially joined the effort in 2022, demanding the following:

(1) The slave trade Benin Bronzes be shared with them as they have the highest moral grounds for ownership, considering their ancestors were sold for the metal needed to make the bronzes;

(2) The slave trade Benin Bronzes remain in trust at institutions in the West and the Americas, where the institutions can have access to them for aesthetic, academic, and cultural education; and

(3) They share in all the benefits of co-ownership; and

WHEREAS, DNA research verifies that 93% of African Americans have Nigerian DNA from ancestors sold into the transatlantic slave trade from the region now called Nigeria, while 82% of Caribbean people have it, as do descendants of captives sold to Portuguese slave traders by the Benin Kingdom and transported to Brazil from the 1500s until the prohibition of the slave trade in 1888; and

WHEREAS, Neither the Benin Kingdom nor Nigeria has ever apologized for the Benin Kingdom's stealing of people and selling them for the manillas used to make the Benin Bronzes; however, heirs of enslaved Africans still suffer from the vestiges of slavery such as racial violence, discrimination, and wealth gaps, and they have never been offered dual-citizenship or been invited to repatriate back home to Nigeria; and

WHEREAS, The Benin Kingdom and Nigeria have been unresponsive to demands by descendants of their captives to share the slave trade bronzes, while Edo State, the home of the ancient Benin Kingdom, still bears a lasting legacy of the historic crime against humanity exemplified by media reports of organ harvesting and human trafficking of Edo girls for sex slavery in Europe and the Middle East; and

WHEREAS, Rewarding the heirs of slave traders with repatriation of their ancestors' ill-gotten gains, the slave trade Benin Bronzes, sends a misguided message to modern Edo State human traffickers and fails to address the historical injustices associated with the relics; and

WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes must be shared between the heirs of the enslaved captives who paid for the relics with their lives, and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom slave traders must acknowledge the shared cultural history and Benin Kingdom's responsibility; and

WHEREAS, Efforts should be taken to bring these heirs together for healing and to ensure that they collectively benefit from the ownership and preservation of the Benin Bronzes; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge and condemn the historical injustice associated with the original creation of the Benin Bronzes, the subsequent British acquisition and distribution of the relics, and the current possession of the Benin Bronzes by museums and collectors who are unwilling to share the relics with the heirs of the enslaved people who paid for them with their lives and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom slave traders, emphasizing the need for redress and equitable sharing and repatriation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the following steps be taken in regard to the Benin Bronzes:

(1) That all museums and private collectors who possess slave trade Benin Bronzes enter into discussions and negotiations with the descendants of the enslaved and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom for the sharing and repatriation process, with particular concern paid to the Field Museum and all other stakeholder museums located in the United States;

(2) That a Repatriation Committee shall be established, comprising of representatives from the Restitution Study Group and other relevant advocates on behalf of descendants of the enslaved captives, the heirs of the Benin Kingdom, relevant academia, cultural associations, and international experts, and the Committee shall facilitate negotiations, oversee repatriation of select relics, and ensure equitable sharing and ownership;

(3) That the Repatriation Committee shall work with museums and collectors to create an inventory and comprehensive documentation of the slave trade Benin Bronzes and all other Benin Bronzes, ensuring their accurate identification and classification;

(4) That the Repatriation Committee shall develop a transparent and inclusive decision-making process which includes the voices and perspectives of the descendants of the transatlantic enslaved Benin Kingdom captives and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom, ensuring their equal participation in determining the future of the Benin Bronzes;

(5) That the Repatriation Committee shall develop a framework for sharing the Benin Bronzes, considering factors such as display language in museums and cultural institutions both in the Benin Kingdom and internationally, touring exhibitions, educational programs, and initiatives that promote cultural understanding and healing;

(6) That resale royalties shall be collected from private sale of Benin Bronzes anywhere in the world based on agreements with auction houses or laws passed in legislative bodies, and these royalties shall be paid into a trust shared by descendants of Benin Kingdom captives sold into transatlantic enslavement and Benin Kingdom heirs and used for the management of relics and other matters to be determined by the two groups of heirs;

(7) That adequate resources shall be allocated from museum exhibit, loan, and resale royalty fees to ensure the sustainable preservation and conservation of the Benin Bronzes, safeguarding their historical and cultural value for future generations;

(8) That the Repatriation Committee shall initiate programs and initiatives aimed at bringing the heirs of the enslaved and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom together for healing and reconciliation, with efforts being made to support the economic, educational, and cultural development of the heirs, ensuring they share in the benefits of ownership of the Benin Bronzes through a trust created with exhibit, loan, and resale royalty fees; and

(9) That each group of heirs is expected to participate in the repatriation process, but should either group of heirs refuse to participate in the Repatriation Committee process after being given proper notice, the proceedings shall move forward without their involvement; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge all nations, stakeholder museums, and collectors to support and adhere to this resolution, recognizing the importance of equitable sharing, redress, and healing in the context of the Benin Bronzes; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the Illinois African American Family Commission, The African American Genealogy & Cultural Society, the Restitution Study Group, and the American Alliance of Museums.