Approached CML

In September 2015, Dr. Hugo Cardoso approached the Municipality of Lisbon (Câmara Municipal de Lisboa - CML) in Portugal. A formal request was made for Simon Fraser University (SFU) to receive a donation of unclaimed human remains exhumed from municipal cemeteries for teaching and research purposes. A PDF version of the request can be found below. The choice of pursuing a donation was based on legal advice and the precedent established by the University of Coimbra, in Portugal, when the CEI/XXI - 21^st Century Identified Skeletal Collection was created by Dr. Eugénia Cunha and her team in 2009.  

Dr. Cardoso request was justified on the basis of creating opportunities for the training of students in human skeletal anatomy and for developing a small research collection to support student projects in archaeology and forensics. The ongoing and predicted repatriation of Indigenous Ancestors and the deterioration of other collections were one of the many driving forces for the project.

With the above reasons in mind, Dr. Cardoso's and the Municipality of Lisbon's common goals were initially to:

• Ship approximately 100-200 unclaimed human remains from Lisbon's cemeteries to SFU;
• Target earlier abandoned burial plots which would include individuals with a date of death located in the early 19^th Century and the late 20^th Century;
• Reassure Portuguese and Canadian authorities that all pertaining legislation would be respected as well as all concerns raised by ethics committies in both countries;
• Ascertain the provision that final approval for the project would depend on future funds acquired by Dr. Cardoso to support its costs.