Indigenous ancestral remains returned from US museums
The remains of 14 Indigenous ancestors kept in American museums have returned to Australia.
The bodies were repatriated from the Fowler Museum at the University of California, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the Oakland Museum of California and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology.
They were received by Australian representatives at a ceremony in the United States.
One of the ancestors was accompanied home to South Australia by Ngarrindjeri elder Major Sumner, also known as Uncle Moogy.
Knowing that his relatives had been dug up, flown around the world and put on display was awful, he said.
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“The spirit of that person feels terrible and that makes you feel terrible inside your spirit,” Sumner said.
“At the time all our people were taken, we had no say – we didn’t even know that they were being taken.”
But repatriation has offered a path to healing for the community and for their land.
“It makes me feel good to know that I’m taking another one of my relatives home,” Sumner said.
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“When we were travelling on the plane, I’d ask them how they were going, I’d talk to them or even sing a song to them.”
The Ngarrindjeri person will soon be reburied in their home country.
The rest of the remains, including an ancestor who can be traced to the Wamba Wemba community in Victoria, were returned to Australia under the Commonwealth’s oversight.
Those whose provenance is still being discerned will be cared for by the government until they can be returned to their country.
About 1730 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestors have been returned to Australia over the last three decades including 160 from the US, and more could soon arrive home as the government continues discussions with other collecting institutions and universities.
Sumner has called on the federal government to try to speed up the repatriation process.
The total number of Indigenous remains held overseas is unknown.
Ongoing discussions about museum ethics and the impacts of colonisation have prompted both institutions and private collectors to more actively participate in repatriation processes.
