Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HR0211 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
4	4	2 WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes are a collection of several
5	5	3 thousand metal plaques, sculpture heads, jewelry, and other
6	6	4 objects that adorned the royal palace of the Oba, or king, of
7	7	5 the Benin Kingdom, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria; they were
8	8	6 made of brass, leather, wood, and ivory by Edo artists from the
9	9	7 12th to 19th centuries; and
10	10	8 WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes hold profound spiritual,
11	11	9 historical, and cultural significance to the Edo people;
12	12	10 however, the 16th to 19th century brass relics hold particular
13	13	11 cultural and ethnical significance to heirs, also referred to
14	14	12 as descendants, of enslaved captives because this group of
15	15	13 relics, referred to as "slave trade Benin Bronzes", were
16	16	14 created through the melting and refabrication of metal manilla
17	17	15 currency exchanged for their captive ancestors who were sold
18	18	16 to European transatlantic slave traders by the Benin Kingdom
19	19	17 over a 300-year period; and
20	20	18 WHEREAS, During the Punitive Expedition of 1897, the slave
21	21	19 trade Benin Bronzes were taken by British forces to cover the
22	22	20 cost of a retaliatory war in response to the Benin Kingdom
23	23	21 committing a massacre against an unarmed party of 12 British
24	24	22 envoys and 250 African porters, which left only a few
25	25	23 survivors; and
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34	34	1 WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes are currently held in various
35	35	2 museums and private collections around the world, including
36	36	3 one-quarter of the known relics being located in the United
37	37	4 States, with the third largest collection in the world,
38	38	5 consisting of 393 pieces, being held at the Field Museum in
39	39	6 Chicago; while most of the slave trade Benin Bronzes are blood
40	40	7 metal bronzes, their slave trade origins are not shared and
41	41	8 remain largely unknown to the world; and
42	42	9 WHEREAS, Benin Kingdom heirs have been engaged in a
43	43	10 repatriation effort of the Benin Bronzes since 1933, calling
44	44	11 for the return of the slave trade Benin Bronzes for moral
45	45	12 reasons; however, heirs of enslaved Africans have required
46	46	13 modern technology to trace their DNA to Benin Kingdom captives
47	47	14 and officially joined the effort in 2022, demanding the
48	48	15 following:
49	49	16 (1) The slave trade Benin Bronzes be shared with them
50	50	17 as they have the highest moral grounds for ownership,
51	51	18 considering their ancestors were sold for the metal needed
52	52	19 to make the bronzes;
53	53	20 (2) The slave trade Benin Bronzes remain in trust at
54	54	21 institutions in the West and the Americas, where the
55	55	22 institutions can have access to them for aesthetic,
56	56	23 academic, and cultural education; and
57	57	24 (3) They share in all the benefits of co-ownership;
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68	68	1 and
69	69	2 WHEREAS, DNA research verifies that 93% of African
70	70	3 Americans have Nigerian DNA from ancestors sold into the
71	71	4 transatlantic slave trade from the region now called Nigeria,
72	72	5 while 82% of Caribbean people have it, as do descendants of
73	73	6 captives sold to Portuguese slave traders by the Benin Kingdom
74	74	7 and transported to Brazil from the 1500s until the prohibition
75	75	8 of the slave trade in 1888; and
76	76	9 WHEREAS, Neither the Benin Kingdom nor Nigeria has ever
77	77	10 apologized for the Benin Kingdom's stealing of people and
78	78	11 selling them for the manillas used to make the Benin Bronzes;
79	79	12 however, heirs of enslaved Africans still suffer from the
80	80	13 vestiges of slavery such as racial violence, discrimination,
81	81	14 and wealth gaps, and they have never been offered
82	82	15 dual-citizenship or been invited to repatriate back home to
83	83	16 Nigeria; and
84	84	17 WHEREAS, The Benin Kingdom and Nigeria have been
85	85	18 unresponsive to demands by descendants of their captives to
86	86	19 share the slave trade bronzes, while Edo State, the home of the
87	87	20 ancient Benin Kingdom, still bears a lasting legacy of the
88	88	21 historic crime against humanity exemplified by media reports
89	89	22 of organ harvesting and human trafficking of Edo girls for sex
90	90	23 slavery in Europe and the Middle East; and
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101	101	1 WHEREAS, Rewarding the heirs of slave traders with
102	102	2 repatriation of their ancestors' ill-gotten gains, the slave
103	103	3 trade Benin Bronzes, sends a misguided message to modern Edo
104	104	4 State human traffickers and fails to address the historical
105	105	5 injustices associated with the relics; and
106	106	6 WHEREAS, The Benin Bronzes must be shared between the
107	107	7 heirs of the enslaved captives who paid for the relics with
108	108	8 their lives, and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom slave traders
109	109	9 must acknowledge the shared cultural history and Benin
110	110	10 Kingdom's responsibility; and
111	111	11 WHEREAS, Efforts should be taken to bring these heirs
112	112	12 together for healing and to ensure that they collectively
113	113	13 benefit from the ownership and preservation of the Benin
114	114	14 Bronzes; therefore, be it
115	115	15 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
116	116	16 HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
117	117	17 we acknowledge and condemn the historical injustice associated
118	118	18 with the original creation of the Benin Bronzes, the
119	119	19 subsequent British acquisition and distribution of the relics,
120	120	20 and the current possession of the Benin Bronzes by museums and
121	121	21 collectors who are unwilling to share the relics with the
122	122	22 heirs of the enslaved people who paid for them with their lives
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133	133	1 and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom slave traders, emphasizing
134	134	2 the need for redress and equitable sharing and repatriation;
135	135	3 and be it further
136	136	4 RESOLVED, That we urge the following steps be taken in
137	137	5 regard to the Benin Bronzes:
138	138	6 (1) That all museums and private collectors who
139	139	7 possess slave trade Benin Bronzes enter into discussions
140	140	8 and negotiations with the descendants of the enslaved and
141	141	9 the heirs of the Benin Kingdom for the sharing and
142	142	10 repatriation process, with particular concern paid to the
143	143	11 Field Museum and all other stakeholder museums located in
144	144	12 the United States;
145	145	13 (2) That a Repatriation Committee shall be
146	146	14 established, comprising of representatives from the
147	147	15 Restitution Study Group and other relevant advocates on
148	148	16 behalf of descendants of the enslaved captives, the heirs
149	149	17 of the Benin Kingdom, relevant academia, cultural
150	150	18 associations, and international experts, and the Committee
151	151	19 shall facilitate negotiations, oversee repatriation of
152	152	20 select relics, and ensure equitable sharing and ownership;
153	153	21 (3) That the Repatriation Committee shall work with
154	154	22 museums and collectors to create an inventory and
155	155	23 comprehensive documentation of the slave trade Benin
156	156	24 Bronzes and all other Benin Bronzes, ensuring their
157	157	25 accurate identification and classification;
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168	168	1 (4) That the Repatriation Committee shall develop a
169	169	2 transparent and inclusive decision-making process which
170	170	3 includes the voices and perspectives of the descendants of
171	171	4 the transatlantic enslaved Benin Kingdom captives and the
172	172	5 heirs of the Benin Kingdom, ensuring their equal
173	173	6 participation in determining the future of the Benin
174	174	7 Bronzes;
175	175	8 (5) That the Repatriation Committee shall develop a
176	176	9 framework for sharing the Benin Bronzes, considering
177	177	10 factors such as display language in museums and cultural
178	178	11 institutions both in the Benin Kingdom and
179	179	12 internationally, touring exhibitions, educational
180	180	13 programs, and initiatives that promote cultural
181	181	14 understanding and healing;
182	182	15 (6) That resale royalties shall be collected from
183	183	16 private sale of Benin Bronzes anywhere in the world based
184	184	17 on agreements with auction houses or laws passed in
185	185	18 legislative bodies, and these royalties shall be paid into
186	186	19 a trust shared by descendants of Benin Kingdom captives
187	187	20 sold into transatlantic enslavement and Benin Kingdom
188	188	21 heirs and used for the management of relics and other
189	189	22 matters to be determined by the two groups of heirs;
190	190	23 (7) That adequate resources shall be allocated from
191	191	24 museum exhibit, loan, and resale royalty fees to ensure
192	192	25 the sustainable preservation and conservation of the Benin
193	193	26 Bronzes, safeguarding their historical and cultural value
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204	204	1 for future generations;
205	205	2 (8) That the Repatriation Committee shall initiate
206	206	3 programs and initiatives aimed at bringing the heirs of
207	207	4 the enslaved and the heirs of the Benin Kingdom together
208	208	5 for healing and reconciliation, with efforts being made to
209	209	6 support the economic, educational, and cultural
210	210	7 development of the heirs, ensuring they share in the
211	211	8 benefits of ownership of the Benin Bronzes through a trust
212	212	9 created with exhibit, loan, and resale royalty fees; and
213	213	10 (9) That each group of heirs is expected to
214	214	11 participate in the repatriation process, but should either
215	215	12 group of heirs refuse to participate in the Repatriation
216	216	13 Committee process after being given proper notice, the
217	217	14 proceedings shall move forward without their involvement;
218	218	15 and be it further
219	219	16 RESOLVED, That we urge all nations, stakeholder museums,
220	220	17 and collectors to support and adhere to this resolution,
221	221	18 recognizing the importance of equitable sharing, redress, and
222	222	19 healing in the context of the Benin Bronzes; and be it further
223	223	20 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
224	224	21 delivered to the Congressional Black Caucus, the National
225	225	22 Black Caucus of State Legislators, the Illinois African
226	226	23 American Family Commission, The African American Genealogy &
227	227	24 Cultural Society, the Restitution Study Group, and the
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238	238	1 American Alliance of Museums.
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