A UK museum is returning more than 174 objects to an Indigenous Australian community in what is a being hailed as a landmark example of cultural repatriation.
Manchester Museum’s return of the objects is significant because repatriation projects normally revolve around sacred or ceremonial items. Often the objects are considered stolen or were taken in shocking circumstances.
In this case, Manchester is returning everyday objects with a more mundane backstory. They include dolls made from shells, baskets, fishing spears, boomerangs, armbands and a map made from turtle shells, all being sent back to the Anindilyakwa community, who live on an archipelago in the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the northern coast of Australia.
The expectation is that the objects will be used strengthen and revitalise Anindilyakwa culture, to help teach new generations the cultural history of their people.
“We believe this is the future of museums,” said Esme Ward, the director of Manchester Museum. “This is how we should be.”
She emphasised that she was not telling other museums what they should do with their collections, “but if people are inspired by our commitment to build relationships, that would be great.”
Many organisations, including Unesco, hope the project will be a model for other museums to follow. Krista Pikkat, Unesco’s director for culture and emergencies, was in Manchester on Tuesday for the formal handing over of the objects.
“It is a truly historic and moving moment,” she said. “This is a case we have shared with our member states because we felt it was exemplary in many ways.” The return of the objects was not a transaction, she said, but “a collaboration, a dialogue”, a project fuelled by “empathy, trust and love”.
She added: “It is so much more than repatriation and I remember how moved I was when I heard a presentation. This is not a loss, it is not giving away something.”
The objects were all bought or traded for in the 1950s by Peter Worsley, an anthropology PhD student researching the lives of Indigenous Australians who later became a professor at the university.
Ward said: “My understanding is that he [Worsley] was building relationships with the Anindilyakwa people and I like to think he would view this as an extension of the work he started.”
Worsley’s daughter Deborah, who was at the ceremony, agreed. “He would be so thrilled. I feel so, so proud today.”
Islanders have been directly involved in deciding what should be returned, and what should stay in Manchester.
Georgina Young, the museum’s head of collections, spent time on Groote Eylandt, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, which made the return feel “momentous” in a different way to other object returns, she said.
“Sitting with elders and hearing them discuss this collection on their land in their terms has enabled me to understand and care in ways not possible in a storeroom in Manchester.”
The objects being returned have not been on display or used for teaching for many years.
Repatriation of museum objects is often raised as a controversial subject but it does not need to be, Ward said.
“We’ve worked on repatriation in this museum since the 1990s and since I’ve been director we have framed it as a gain, not a loss. Once you understand that it is about building relationships, it changes everything. I think this project is an incredible gift to the people of Manchester.”
The Anindilyakwa community is about 1,600 people and consists of 14 clans, who are the traditional owners of the land and seas of the Groote Archipelago.
Three representatives of the community travelled to Manchester for the handover. They expressed hope that other museums would follow Manchester’s example.
Noeleen Lalara, a senior elder, said the people who traded or sold the objects in the 1950s did not fully understand the transaction and thought the objects were being borrowed. Asked how she was feeling, she said: “I am emotional. I am happy and I’m proud for our people.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Amethea Mamarika, an emerging leader, who said: “We are happy that the objects are going back to our homeland, where they belong so young people can follow in the footsteps of our ancestors. Thanks for keeping them safe.”
