Artefacts returned after 'emotional' journey
Ten glass spearheads and a kangaroo tooth headband are being returned to Australia after almost a century away from Country.
The culturally significant objects were returned to the Larrakia people of the Northern Territory in a handover ceremony at the Fowler Museum in California.
The objects were collected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and donated to the museum, spending generations away from Larrakia Country.
Elders have been working with the museum and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to have the objects returned since 2021.
Elder and Larrakia Development Corporation chairperson Mark Motlop said once the objects are back on Country, they will be displayed at a Larrakia Cultural Centre, which is under construction and set to open in 2026.
"It has been a long and emotional journey for Larrakia people in the repatriation of these items back to Larrakia Country and one that will facilitate healing and the intergenerational transfer of knowledge," he said.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said the return is an important milestone for Larrakia people.
"Safeguarding our Indigenous cultural heritage is vital to the continuation of Australia's rich and diverse First Nations cultures and ensures the stories of our ancestors are passed on," she said.
The repatriation was facilitated through the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies' return of cultural heritage program.
It is the second return from the Fowler Museum through the program, following a repatriation of Warumungu cultural materials in July 2024.
Institute chief executive Leonard Hill said he is proud of the work being done to return cultural heritage material to Country.
"It is so important that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia not only have access to, but also agency over their cultural heritage material," he said.
"These events reinvigorate cultural connections and promote healing and reconciliation more broadly."
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