Restitution

Manchester Museum, who began returning ancestral remains in 2003 to their original communities, repatriated 43 secret sacred and ceremonial objects in November 2019 to the Aranda people of Central Australia, Gangalidda Garawa peoples’ of Northwest Queensland, Nyamal people of the Pilbara and Yawuru people of Broome.  Director of Manchester Museum Esme Ward said “By taking this action Manchester Museum will become more inclusive, caring and relevant to the communities it serves both locally and globally.” 

In November 2022, the Horniman transferred ownership of its collection of 72 Benin Bronzes looted from Benin City in 1897, to Nigeria.  The request was received from Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments in early 2022.  The Charity Commission (the register and regulator of charities in England and Wales) supported the decision of the trustees of the Horniman who believed it to be “moral and appropriate” for their return.  Six representative objects were returned in an initial wave, while some will remain in the UK on loan in the interim, in agreement from NCMM, with subsequent repatriations taking place thereafter.

The House of Ni'isjoohl Memorial Pole, carved by artist Oyea Tait and his assistant Gwanes in 1855 will be returned to British Columbia following a successful request of transfer made by a delegation of Nisga’a representatives while on a visit to Edinburgh in August 2022.  The pole depicted figures relating to the family history of a Nisga’a chief named Ts’aawit.  The memorial pole has been in the collection of the National Museum of Scotland since 1930 and currently has been displayed in the Living Lands gallery.

Sacred regalia originally belonging to an important 19th century Blackfoot Chief, that had been housed at RAMM since 1878, were returned to Canada in 2022.  The items which included a buckskin shirt, pair of leggings, a knife with feather bundle, two beaded bags and a horsewhip were handed over to be redisplayed in the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park.  A delegation of the Siksika Nation took possession of the objects in an event on 19th of May 2022 in Exeter.  Chief Ouray Crowfoot stated “Bringing these items back home to Siksika is a historic event. Many items left Siksika and other Nations and were scattered across the globe. Now the tides are turning and these items are finding their way back home.”

On the 7th of April 2022 Glasgow City Council's City Administration Committee approved 51 objects which were held in the city’s museums collections to be returned to Nigeria, India and the Cheyenne River and Oglala Sioux Tribes in the US.  

Following extensive provenance research and continuing dialogue with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, National Museums NI repatriated ancestral Hawaiian human remains, iwi kūpuna, and sacred objects, mea kapu, to a delegation of Native Hawaiians at the Ulster Museum in Belfast in 2022.