2016 - News - Detail Page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Together with the Australian Embassy, the Ethnological Museum organised a memorial service for the ancestors, who are now travelling home. They were listed as human remains in the Berlin museum's collection records. The three ancestors were added to the museum's collection in 1880. Two ancestors that were previously kept in the Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch Oldenburg were also returned during the ceremony.

Four representatives of the Ugaram Le from the Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Tomson Stephen, Father Daniel Stephen, Rocky Stephen and Yessie Mosby came to Berlin to accompany the Ugaram Le Omasker ancestors home. Also in attendance was the Australian Ambassador to Berlin, H.E. Natasha Smith. The Australian government had already been in dialogue with the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) for several years regarding human remains from the collections of the Ethnological Museum.

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth explains: "It was a great injustice that these ancestors were taken from their ancestral home. This is representative of the appalling extent of colonialist collecting mania. With today's restitution, we are taking responsibility for the injustice of our colonial past."

Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK, says: "The human remains that we are handing over to our descendants today all come from burial sites. They should never have ended up in our museum. We are therefore very pleased that the ancestors are starting their journey home to Australia today, and we are fully aware that this should have happened long ago. I especially thank the representatives of the Ugar community for making the journey to us to accompany their ancestors home."

H.E. Natasha Smith, Australian Ambassador to Berlin: "Today's repatriation demonstrates the recognition by German institutions and governments of the importance of returning First Nations ancestors to their Traditional Custodians. We acknowledge and welcome the willingness of the Ethnological Museum Berlin and the Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch Oldenburg to support the return of these ancestors and recognise past injustices. The Australian Government continues to actively advocate for our First Nations peoples to repatriate their overseas ancestors so they can return home to Australia."

"The return of ancestors to their homelands is part of Australia's process of redressing and finding the truth about past injustices to First Nations people. The return of our Ugaram Le Omasker ancestors is of great importance to our community as it will bring healing and peace to our people and our ancestors," says Tomson Stephen, representative of the Ugaram Le.

Uncle Sereako Stephen from Ugar Island adds: "It is time to give our ancestors back to their descendants and their community. These ancestors were taken away without their consent and now they are returning. We thank everyone involved in this journey to return our ancestors to their Traditional Custodians and their land - because this is an action of true reconciliation."

"With the return of these human remains, we want to fulfil our responsibility. We regret the historical injustice committed and see it as our duty to contribute to reparation with this first step," says Lars-Christian Koch, Director of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art of the National Museums in Berlin.

"We must face up to our responsibility for the colonial heritage of our collection. Returning the ancestors is an important step towards recognising the historical injustice," explains Ursula Warnke, Director of the Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch Oldenburg.

A repatriation policy has been in place in Australia since 2011, which supports Indigenous Australians in reclaiming and transferring human remains from abroad. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is responsible for this. The agreements on repatriation were concluded with this department. If the "Traditional Custodians" are known, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications informs them about the repatriation of their ancestors. If the Traditional Custodians are not known, the ancestors are placed under the care of the Australian Government so that they can be cared for closer to home.

The SPK's policy on the handling of human remains in its collections: www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/schwerpunkte/provenienzforschung-und-eigentumsfragen/umgang-mit-menschlichen-ueberresten.html
Press images of the commemoration ceremony are available at the following link: https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html

Repatriation Programme of the Queensland Museum: https://www.museum.qld.gov.au/about/repatriation-program