Colgate University voluntarily repatriated 828 objects—adding to a previous return of 67 pieces—after conducting an internal provenance review.
The collection spans three millennia, from the Formative period (1500 BCE) to the Late Postclassic period (early 16th century), and come from various Mesoamerican regions: western Mexico, the Bajío region, the Gulf Coast, the Central Highlands, the Oaxaca area, and the Maya region.
An Olmec-style anthropomorphic figure stands out in the collection due to its age and state of preservation, remaining white plaster coating and red pigment.
While the repatriation has been celebrated by Mexican officials as a triumph of cultural diplomacy, Colgate University framed its return as part of a broader institutional goal to “decolonize” its museum collections.
University President Brian W. Casey and Longyear Museum Co-Director Rebecca Mendelsohn spearheaded this effort.
Mendelsohn described the return as a pioneering act, stating, “If we are truly going to decolonize, really thinking about the significance of everything that we have in our collections to their communities of origin needs to be a part of the equation too.”
The online catalog shows that the university’s collection had been gifted in 1993 by donors David R. and Barbara Hunter, but no other information about the Hunters was available on the university website.
The Colgate announcement did not provide information on how the collection was made or the dates when the Hunters acquired them.
