ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the investigation of the provenances of ten Sámi objects in the holdings of the Museum Europäischer Kulturen (MEK) in Berlin, which were added to the collection of MEK's predecessor in 1879 by the world-famous animal dealer and zoo purveyor Carl Hagenbeck. The author addresses the ways that museum objects have been muted by being placed in storage far from their source communities, as well as measures of restitution. How does the MEK, as well as other German museums, work with and relate to Sámi objects in their collections today? And what potential future might await them?
