MI

During a solemn ceremony at the GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig the repatriation of human remains took place today. The ancestral remains, which had been in the possession of the Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen (SES), were returned to representatives of their Māori (New Zealand) und Moriori (Chatham Islands) communities of origin.

The return entailed human remains (bones, hair samples) of 64 persons. Additionally, and for the first time, the SES restituted eight plaster casts of Māori individuals. Their respective communities regard them, as iwi tūpuna, i.e. ancestors by their communities. For this reason, they were repatriated just like the bones and hair samples were. For the first time, Saxony restituted also a piece of burial object: a wooden mallet that had been removed from a grave along with three individuals.

The repatriation of indigenous ancestors is an important part of the decolonization of Saxony’s ethnological museums. Close cooperation with officials of the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and with political decision makers of both countries is central to the process of repatriation. In light of the colonial violence that took place, the return of these Indigenous ancestors is of immense importance to the process of reconciliation.  

The human remains come from grave lootings as well as from victims of violent conflicts. Between 1870 and 1905 they were purchased or gifted to the Königlich Zoologisches und Anthropologisch-Ethnographisches Museum, respectively to its successor institution, the Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden (MVD), which today belongs to the Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen, which in turn is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD).

Since 2003 the government of New Zealand pursues the goal of repatriating the kōiwi tangata /kōimi t’chakat (ancestral remains) of the Māori und Moriori. In 2019, conversations started in Dresden between representatives of the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme, the New Zealand Embassy to Germany, and representatives of the SKD and the Free State of Saxony. The participants agreed to jointly intensify their respective provenance research on these human remains and to prepare the repatriation to Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Rēkohu (Chatham Islands), their country of origin.

The repatriation at the GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig is part of several repatriations to New Zealand, which are taking place in May and June 2023 all over Germany. Involved are, among others, the Linden-Museum Stuttgart, the Naturkundemuseum Stuttgart, the Roemer- und Pelizaeu Museum Hildesheim, the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museum Mannheim and the Universitätssammlung Göttingen.

S.E. Craig Hawke, New Zealand’s Ambassador to Germany:

‟This repatriation is a poignant example of our collaborative partnership. As we celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations between Aotearoa New Zealand and Germany, these repatriations demonstrate the mature and close relationship we share.

The Dresden State Art Collections have shown significant respect and understanding towards Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori and Moriori, as well as an eagerness to learn.”

Arapata Hakiwai, Te Papa’s Kaihautū (Māori co-leader):

“It is an honour to be able to return our ancestors home and to reconnect them with their descendants. This repatriation is a result of an agreement signed in 2019 by the Dresden State Art Collections of Saxony, the State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony and the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme – it’s warming to see how this relationship can lead to the return of ancestors.”

Te Herekiekie Haerehuka Herewini, Head of Repatriation, at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | Karanga Aotearoa:

“We’re pleased to be able to work with our colleagues in Germany in order to facilitate the safe return of the ancestors to their iwi/imi (tribes). Repatriation offers a pathway to reconciliation and the museum’s genuine commitment to the repatriation of indigenous remains allows our country to resolve a very dark period in our history.”

Katja Keul, State Minister of the Office of Foreign Affairs:

„Processing the time of colonialism is a central task we as a society have to collectively address. In this process, repatriation of human remains is a priority also for the Federal Government. Therefore, I am very glad that through the joint efforts of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | Karanga Aotearoa, the State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony as part of the Dresden State Art Collections and the government of the Free State of Saxony the Māori and Moriori human remains can now return home and receive their due burial ceremonies.“

Barbara Klepsch, Saxon Minister of State for Culture and Tourism:

‟Today‘s repatriation of Māori and Moriori ancestors is a milestone in the process of coming to terms with the colonial heritage in the collections of the Free State of Saxony. The necessary provenance research and the close cooperation with the National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, have contributed to putting colonial and individual history into a vital global context. They enrich our knowledge and make the Saxon ethnological museums vibrant places of science, education and international cooperation. It demonstrates the Free State of Saxony’s determination to actively implement reconciliation and transcultural understanding.”

Marion Ackermann, Director General of the Dresden State Art Collections:

‟The Dresden State Art Collections no longer regard the human remains in their anthropological collection as scientific objects and exhibits, but as the remains of human individuals, which is what they used to be and still are. The death of these individuals and the disappearance of their remains caused great pain and lingering ruptures at their country of origin, emotionally as well as religiously, spiritually and historically. Today we speak of kōiwi tangata and kōimi t’chakat (ancestoral remains) to whom dignity and respect are due and who we now return to the representatives of their communities of origin.”

Léontine Meijer-van Mensch, Director of the State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony:

‟This public repatriation is already the fifth return of indigenous ancestral remains to their communities and countries of origin. To welcome the descendants of the deceased to our museum enables us to contribute to a process of reconciliation and healing. It is our goal to repatriate the human remains from our collections in close cooperation and agreement with their communities of origin.”