LogoRM-2

[restitution matters]

News about colonial collections and restitution

RM* reports news about collections from former colonial territories and their future.

RM* enables heritage lovers to inform themselves about developments in this field and reduces the knowledge gap between the global south and the global north.

RM* is for all heritage enthusiasts around the world – both professionals and others – concerned with decolonising collections from colonial areas. 

More results...

Filter by content type

Recently in the press on restitution

French Senate supports return of bodies of Indigenous people exhibited in ‘human zoos’

Earlier, the French government supported a bill allowing for the remains of people who were exhibited in colonial-era “human zoos” in Paris to be returned to their ancestral lands in French Guiana. Now senators have also declared their support for the law. It meets a long-standing demand of Indigenous communities in France’s overseas territories, acknowledging a dark chapter from the country’s past. The association Moliko Alet+Po has played a crucal role.

Fragments of the Parthenon in the Louvre and the new French law

[in French] With the law on the restitution of cultural property adopted, CNRS researcher Catharine Titi questions, in Le Monde, the legal and archaeological issues related to this question through a reflection on the fragments of the Parthenon at the Louvre. France could draw inspiration from the examples of the Vatican, Italy and Germany.

Court confirms NAGPRA applies to children’s remains

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska celebrates the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacating the lower court’s dismissal and holding that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) applies in Winnebago v. Department of the Army. The ruling allows the Tribe to proceed with its lawsuit against the U.S. Army seeking repatriation of the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley, two Winnebago boys who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School more than 125 years ago.

Emmanuel Macron: return of looted African art is ‘unstoppable’

During his visit to Kenya, French President Emmanuel Macron said the process of returning African artworks looted during the colonial era had become "unstoppable". But, despite a growing number of restitution requests, France has returned only a handful of artefacts to its colonies.

more news items >>

Dedicated to a mask, its maker and first users

Long ago, I held this Congolese mask in my hands. The dealer claimed it to be very old; he was keen to sell it. But unlike other wooden pieces, which he offered for little money, he asked a big sum for this one. Perhaps, it was indeed old and valuable. Back then, the mask struck a chord with me. Nowadays, it still does.

Jos van Beurden

News about RM*

New: Partnership with Retours & Restitutions
[ in English and French ] RM* Restitutions Matters and Retours & Restitutions have entered into a...
Will you join the RM* team?
To cope with the growing news-offer, RM* wants to strengthen its editorial team with some contributo...
New website!
A long-cherished wish has been fulfilled, RM*[restitution matters] has its own website! We proudly present...

Recent publications on restitution

Propaganda and plunder from the Summer Palace in Taiwan and elsewhere

Kate Fitz Gibbon observes that Chinese cultural claims for the return of items looted during the 1860 attack on the Summer Palace, the 1900 Kate Fitz Gibbon notes that Chinese cultural claims to the return of artifacts looted during the attack on the Summer Palace in 1860, the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, and the Japanese invasion in the first half of the 20th century support the country's anti-Taiwanese and nationalist propaganda. But she also wants China to become more self-critical, not to exaggerate about the number of lost relics and to also tackle the abuses in its own country.

Asante Restitution: When Objects, Bodies, and Histories Collide

Kate Fitz Gibbon writes: The restitution of Asante-linked instruments from Los Angeles to Ghana exposes the limits of standard repatriation narratives, particularly when provenance is uncertain and human remains are involved. Rather than resolving historical injustice, the case highlights competing claims, ethical ambiguities, and the need for negotiated, context-specific outcomes.

Open Restitution Africa calls it “journeys”

Open Restitution Africa (ORA) describes restitution as a pan-African process of remembrance, research, and the digital sharing of knowledge – an interview with Chao Tayiana Maina and Karen Ijumba. 'The bulk of the work in the restitution lies on the African side: the work of reintegration, the negotiation, and supporting people in dealing with the return of the artifacts.'

Heritage, power and storytelling

Ganga Rajinee Dissanayaka explores how heritage, power, and narrative relate to each other, and how the subtle, insidious dependencies shape who tells the story of a culture in 2026 and who becomes little more than a footnote at the back of a museum. In Sri Lanka, Vedda cultures, coastal Muslim traders, Tamil ritual practices, and Catholic-Sinhalese syncretism could be studied ethnographically, none qualified as heritage.

more publications >>

Events on restitution

  • Paris
  • 16 Jun 2026

Connected minds

Recent blog items

The Warlpiri Project and Yuendumu community uses repatriation to create a better future for the next generations

Since 2019, a number of sacred objects and ancestral remains have been repatriated to the Warlpiri people of Yuendumu community north-west of Alice Springs in the middle of Australia. For them repatriation is about healing the community, but in particular healing the young men and women of their community, writes Jamie Hampton*. In this Blog, he shares his story about the Yuendumu community and how repatriation has helped them heal from past injustices, providing pathways for the next generations of Warlpiri to ensure they live a life grounded in culture in a changing world.

>>>
20 Apr 2026

Namibia pursues genocide compensation with a focus on restitution

While Germany appears keen to expedite the conclusion of the negotiations with Namibia concerning the genocide committed against the Ovaherero and Nama communities between 1904 and 1908, the Namibian position reflects that the matter remains unresolved. Namibia continues to advocate for a comprehensive reparative framework grounded in five key elements: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, guarantees of non-repetition, and satisfaction. Sarah Negumbo, the Director of Namibia Library and Archives Service, provides further insight into the historical, legal, and ethical dimensions underpinning these demands.

>>>
16 Apr 2026

more blogitems >>