Naga delegation urges UK museum to return ancestral remains from colonial era
Tribes from Nagaland engaged in discussions at Oxford University's Pitt Rivers Museum to reclaim ancestral remains taken during British colonial rule. The demand for their return comes amid increasing global calls for the restitution of stolen Indigenous remains and looted cultural artefacts to their rightful communities.Skulls and other body parts were frequently transported from Asia, Africa, and other regions to Britain and other former colonial powers as "trophies" for trade, display, or study.advertisementHistorians state that some of the remains were taken by colonial officers from burial grounds and battlefields in the northeastern state, a region where headhunting was practised for centuries. Others were looted during violent incidents.
Dolly Kikon, an anthropologist from Nagaland's Lotha-Naga tribe, said that the Naga delegation visited Oxford to reclaim ancestral heritage."For the first time, there is a Naga delegation to connect and to reclaim our history, our culture and our belongings," Kikon, who teaches at the University of California and travelled to Oxford last week, told Reuters.According to a statement issued by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, the delegation was invited by the Pitt Rivers Museum (PRM) between June 8 and 10 to discuss the future of the Naga ancestral remains that the PRM holds within their collections.TIMING OF RETURN STILL UNCERTAIN: MUSEUMadvertisementHowever, museum director Laura Van Broekhoven said the timing of the return of the remains was still uncertain due to the bureaucracy involved. The museum is also in talks with other groups to facilitate more items being returned, Reuters reported.The PRM, which displays collections from Oxford University, holds the world's largest Naga collection, including thousands of artefacts, 41 human remains, primarily skulls, and 178 objects that contain or may contain human hair, according to a report by news agency Reuters.Just last month, the skulls of 19 African Americans were returned to New Orleans from Germany, where they had been sent for study by phrenologists, proponents of a now discredited belief that skull shape reveals mental abilities, according to a Reuters report.REPATRIATION EFFORTS ONGOING FOR FIVE YEARSSpeaking upon arrival in Oxford, Reverend Ellen Konyak Jamir, Coordinator of Recover, Restore and Decolonise (RRD), and also part of the delegation, described the talks as a significant milestone in the collective Naga effort to recover their ancestral remains and confront colonial legacies through dialogue and cooperation with international institutions, according to a report in Nagaland-based English newspaper The Morung Express."We had a very, very meaningful time. It was a momentous occasion for the Nagas as a whole, and we want to thank the Naga people for the support rendered to us, and we are very proud of our tribal leaders here representing the different hohos," The Morung Express quoted Jamir as saying.advertisementThe RRD team reported that the repatriation initiative has been underway for five years, involving wide-reaching engagement with Naga communities across districts, churches, schools, and civil society organisations.The 23 Naga representatives, including tribal elders and community representatives, joined British lawmakers and campaigners in urging the government to create laws to protect ancestral remains.The museum removed all remains from public display in 2020, including ancestors of Kikon.Some European countries, like the Netherlands, have national policies for the repatriation of human remains.Opponents of reparations argue that contemporary states and institutions should not be held responsible for their past. Advocates say action is needed to address the legacies, such as systemic and structural racism, according to the Reuters report."One way to confront the colonial legacy is for Indigenous people to be able to tell our own stories," Kikon was quoted as saying by Reuters.
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