I think that HCN could have exercised better judgment
with the cover photo for the story "Pillaging the Past"
(HCN,
4/28/08). I see a conflict between the use of that
particular image and the contents of Childs' article. Pillaging
isn't just about removing objects -- it's also about respect for
them. Placing human remains on the front cover of your magazine
shows a level of indifference that can easily perpetuate the idea
of Native remains as "specimens" rather than people -- as Childs
observed in the article. I personally would not want to see one of
my ancestors plastered on the front cover of any newspaper. I hope
that you try a little harder in the future to choose photos that
support the positions of the articles you print.
Don Corbeil
Fruita, Utah
HCN
Editor Jonathan Thompson discusses why we chose a
photograph of a human skull for the cover of the April 28 issue.
Please see blog.hcn.org/goat for his explanation, and feel free to
add your own thoughts to the discussion.