Returning ancestral remains and secret and sacred objects

The National Museum of Australia's repatriation team works to return ancestral human remains and secret and sacred objects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Museum has been returning remains and objects since its inception in 1980 and is recognised nationally and internationally for its repatriation work.

More than 1000 individuals and over 360 secret and sacred objects have been unconditionally returned to Indigenous communities.

Museum staff continue to work closely with Indigenous communities to return remains and artefacts to their ancestral custodians.

Temporary repository

The National Museum of Australia has never deliberately sought to acquire human remains or secret and sacred objects to develop its collection.

Instead, the Museum's holdings derive from many earlier and international sources.

Many are from the Australian Institute of Anatomy collection, which was transferred to the National Museum in 1985 when the Institute closed. Others were deposited with the Museum or donated over many years.

Ngarrindgeri delegate Basil Sumner signs a receipt for the return of remains to South Australia. Photo: Dragi Markovic.

The Museum has also become the temporary repository and repatriation point for many collections returned from overseas.

Working with communities

The Museum's repatriation work is guided by strict policies that currently allow for the unconditional return of remains and artefacts to traditional owners and custodians.

Where custodians do not have the resources to take remains or secret and sacred objects, the Museum may store them on the community's behalf.

External access to the holdings is only permitted with the approval of the relevant community.