The immediate catalyst for this was a baby, believed to be of Surinamese Indigenous descent, currently kept in museum storage. Although the child’s exact origins are uncertain, we know the baby entered the museum in 1923 via the Artis collection.
Courtesy Wereldmuseum, the Netherlands
Manuwi C. Tokai initiated a request for the baby to be returned to the community. The Wereldmuseum supports this request and is working with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science to facilitate the repatriation.
Wereldmuseum acknowledges the pain and weight of this subject and is committed to openness, respect, and healing. We invite communities, visitors, and all those concerned to reflect with us on how to address this history – and how to shape a future rooted in dignity for these ancestors and their descendants, even when their precise origins remain unknown.
We encourage anyone seeking more information or wishing to engage in dialogue to contact us.
