Naga delegation seek return of ancestral remains from UK’s Pitt Rivers Museum

Over 200 human remains of Naga tribes are believed to have been taken away during the colonial period, many of them now kept at the Pitt Rivers Museum (PRM)

Kohima: Naga tribe leaders and seniors currently in the United Kingdom (UK) for talks with the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford have issued a declaration, seeking the repatriation of Naga ancestral remains that were on display at the museum until 2020.

The declaration, made on Friday at the Lecture Theatre of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, said the repatriation process is towards healing, wholeness of Naga people (Sourced)

According to the Naga delegation, the declaration, made on Friday at the Lecture Theatre of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, stated that the repatriation process is towards the healing and wholeness of the Naga people.

Over 200 human remains of Naga tribes are believed to have been taken away during the colonial period, many of them now kept at the Pitt Rivers Museum (PRM).

“We are grateful to our ancestors for being a testament and silently proclaiming the stories of our people. We are sorry that it has taken us several decades, but we are here now to reclaim and return you to the homelands from where you were taken. We are committed to the process of your return from museums,” the declaration said.

“As Nagas, we do so in a united voice, with mutual respect and consensus and to offer you a dignified rest, establishing a Naga monument of healing and peace for all generations, symbolising the oneness of the Nagas,” it added.

The Naga team also extended their solidarity to fellow indigenous peoples across the world who seek to undertake a similar journey of repatriation in the hope of bringing decolonisation, justice, and peace—not just for themselves, but for humanity.

The delegation has been in the UK since June 8, holding dialogues with Pitt Rivers Museum administrators to strengthen the process of repatriating Naga ancestral human remains.

The delegation is composed of leaders and seniors of different Naga tribal bodies, members of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), and the Recover, Restore and Decolonise (RRaD) team.