In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), History Colorado and Mesa Verde National Park are to repatriate Ancestral remains and cultural items that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations.
For more than a century and a half, Ethiopian manuscripts have travelled far from the churches, monasteries, and royal collections where they were created and preserved. Most crossed borders through looting and entered private collections, museums, and the international antiquarian market through chains of ownership that are now difficult to reconstruct. For Ethiopia’s scattered manuscript heritage, the journey home is gaining momentum—but remains far from complete. Is Ethiopia's effort indicative for a turning point in the restitution discourse?
Olugbile Holloway’s inclusion in TIME Magazine’s inaugural TIME100 Art list has drawn attention to his role in Nigeria’s efforts to secure the return of cultural artefacts taken from the country. Holloway was appointed Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in March 2024.
H.E. Ambassador Xie Feng at the ceremony for the repatriation of Chinese Cultural Property: Jointly bringing home cultural treasures, trafficked overseas more than 100 years ago, is a new chapter in the China-U.S. Relationship.
Abreha Kiros reports: The return from the USA of 17 ancient spiritual parchment manuscripts to Ethiopia marks an important achievement in the recovery, preservation, and responsible stewardship of the country’s cultural heritage.
The Association on American Indian Affairs is seeking proposals for panels, workshops, training and other sessions that will support the 12th Annual Repatriation Conference theme “Tending the Fire – Sustaining the Journey Home.” The Conference will be completely virtual and take place Thursdays and Fridays in the month of February 2027.
The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) announced partnership with the Ethiopian Heritage Authority (EHA). At the center of the partnership is the acquisition of a collection of approximately 380 Ethiopian artworks. The museum will immediately return two 15th century religious manuscripts. Further returns will be prepared.
For Native Hawai‘ian advocate Edward Halealoha Ayau, caring for the dead has been a lifelong duty. It has also been a matter of steadily increasing legal traction.
For many years, the American museum community has been pursuing jars, created by enslaved potter David Drake (1800-1870). However, now the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, has made a necessary and bold move: it has recognised the jars as stolen objects.
On 1 July 2026, Bolivia Archaeology National Museum (Munarq) reopened its doors with the permanent exhibition ‘Eternal Roots, Living Legacies,’ an exhibition that highlights the connection between pre-Hispanic customs and current traditions of the Andean country. It also has a section about repatriation.
Over 2,000 ancestral remains and sacred objects belonging to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians have gone home. Dating back thousands of years, they were long confined to wood trays and boxes at Yale and Harvard’s Peabody museums. Chumash representatives called this treatment of their ancestors “cruel and inhumane.”
Decades Late, Museum Scrambles to Return 2,700 Native Remains - The American Museum of Natural History said it would repatriate hair clippings that must be returned to tribes under a 1990 federal law.
The hair clippings were originally collected by anthropologists for an installation at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
