Soooo... This is a topic that should be covered, needs to be covered. And while I feel like I'm far from the right person to explore it, and don't have the time to get it covered by someone more knowledgeable, I'll do my best here. That's all any of us can do, really, is try our best :D
Chelsea, another Weird Giraffe Games team member, pointed me to this article from The New York Times. It isn't super long, but it does explore the topic well: while many museum artifacts have been discovered, purchased, and traded for ethically, many more haven't. Graves have been robbed, people have been attacked, items have been stolen, and others have been claimed through threats.
It's so weird, too, because some of the things people are quoted as saying are: "If we give these things back, our museums will be half-empty!" Which, like... yep! That's true! But just because something happened in the past doesn't make the people who still have these objects innocent. "Not the One" by The Offspring comes to mind here: "Still our descendants will inherit our mistakes of today."
Is having stuff protected behind glass for people to see more important than returning stolen property and giving things back after people have been threatened, attacked, and killed? Things that these people would have to pay to see themselves?
Imagine if something really precious to someone you loved (even if that person is you!) were stolen from you after you were beaten and robbed, or if a family member's grave was dug up and their coffin ripped open, their bones scattered and broken. Now imagine if those things were put behind glass, with a short little description about it placed there, and the only way you could ever see it again was to go to some building far away (maybe even a different building every few months or years as the item moves between museums) and look at it through that glass.
Again, I'm sure I'm not doing this anywhere near the justice it deserves. The fact that I have to imagine and come up with nigh-impossible situations to even relate this much makes me incredibly privileged. And this isn't something that suddenly stopped in the past, it's still going on today.
I didn't design Dreams of Yesterday, nor did I develop it, write the rulebook, or anything else... but I personally see Dreams of Yesterday as obtaining these artifacts the right way. You use money, knowledge, and prestige to get things, not threats, violence, or subterfuge. And the goal of the game is to fix/improve the future by illustrating the lessons and artifacts of the past, which cannot be done by force. After all, whatever terrible future is coming for humanity, it's likely due to our own atrocities and awfulness. Heck, even if it's not, the only way we'll overcome that is by working together! Building the foundation of unity on theft, assault, and other atrocities will never work.
Note: I'm sure there are museums out there that are lovely and don't hold artifacts gathered unethically. I'm not saying all museums are bad. In fact, basing Dreams of Yesterday on museums is awesome if you ask me! I 100% agree with the importance of learning from and studying the past, and being able to see those actual objects is incredibly powerful. But a part of that power comes from the fact that they were important to people, or an example of something that was ordinary back then but unique and special today.
Chelsea, another Weird Giraffe Games team member, pointed me to this article from The New York Times. It isn't super long, but it does explore the topic well: while many museum artifacts have been discovered, purchased, and traded for ethically, many more haven't. Graves have been robbed, people have been attacked, items have been stolen, and others have been claimed through threats.
It's so weird, too, because some of the things people are quoted as saying are: "If we give these things back, our museums will be half-empty!" Which, like... yep! That's true! But just because something happened in the past doesn't make the people who still have these objects innocent. "Not the One" by The Offspring comes to mind here: "Still our descendants will inherit our mistakes of today."
Is having stuff protected behind glass for people to see more important than returning stolen property and giving things back after people have been threatened, attacked, and killed? Things that these people would have to pay to see themselves?
Imagine if something really precious to someone you loved (even if that person is you!) were stolen from you after you were beaten and robbed, or if a family member's grave was dug up and their coffin ripped open, their bones scattered and broken. Now imagine if those things were put behind glass, with a short little description about it placed there, and the only way you could ever see it again was to go to some building far away (maybe even a different building every few months or years as the item moves between museums) and look at it through that glass.
Again, I'm sure I'm not doing this anywhere near the justice it deserves. The fact that I have to imagine and come up with nigh-impossible situations to even relate this much makes me incredibly privileged. And this isn't something that suddenly stopped in the past, it's still going on today.
I didn't design Dreams of Yesterday, nor did I develop it, write the rulebook, or anything else... but I personally see Dreams of Yesterday as obtaining these artifacts the right way. You use money, knowledge, and prestige to get things, not threats, violence, or subterfuge. And the goal of the game is to fix/improve the future by illustrating the lessons and artifacts of the past, which cannot be done by force. After all, whatever terrible future is coming for humanity, it's likely due to our own atrocities and awfulness. Heck, even if it's not, the only way we'll overcome that is by working together! Building the foundation of unity on theft, assault, and other atrocities will never work.
Note: I'm sure there are museums out there that are lovely and don't hold artifacts gathered unethically. I'm not saying all museums are bad. In fact, basing Dreams of Yesterday on museums is awesome if you ask me! I 100% agree with the importance of learning from and studying the past, and being able to see those actual objects is incredibly powerful. But a part of that power comes from the fact that they were important to people, or an example of something that was ordinary back then but unique and special today.
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