Bruno Véras and the Global Effort to Repatriate a Malê Uprising Leader’s Skull to Brazil

Bruno Véras, Sessional Instructor II and a lecturer in our department, is part of an international working group that successfully advocated for the repatriation of a skull from Harvard's Peabody Museum to Brazil. The skull belonged to an African man who participated in the 1835 Malê Slave Uprising–the second most significant rebellion in Atlantic history, after the Haitian Revolution. Through provenance research, Véras uncovered that a diplomat from the U.S.A took the skull from the body of the rebel. This discovery sparked crucial discussions between Brazilian and U.S.A. diplomats and researchers, followed by a coordinated media initiative in Brazil, Europe, and the U.S.A. 

In 2022 and 2023, Véras organized two seminars as part of the Master of Museum Studies course (MSL2115H), which he regularly teaches at the Faculty of Information. The team brought together Brazilian diplomats, the director of the Peabody Museum, representatives from Harvard, Black social movement and Islamic community leaders from Brazil, and professors from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). They discussed restitution and repatriation, particularly concerning human remains and the case of the skull. Following the second seminar, Harvard agreed to participate in further dialogue with the working group and Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now, the group is engaged in discussions with six ministries from Brazil and the U.S.A. to pursue further research, including DNA analysis, skull imaging, and archival studies. They are also collaborating with civil society organizations for proper memorialization of the deceased.

His research was recently featured in The Guardian newspaper and by the Department of Visual Studies.