Narooma re-buries ancestors kept in Australian institutions

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Narooma re-buries ancestors kept in Australian institutions
Friday, 4 September 2009
NEW SOUTH WALES, September 8, 2009: Four Aboriginal people were finally re-buried in their homeland of Narooma, on the south coast of New South Wales, on Friday after spending more than 70 years in Australian museums.
The remains were uncovered in excavations around Narooma but had since been held at the Australian Museum and Sydney University since as far back as 1936.
They were re-buried in a ceremony last Friday on land owned by the Wagonga Local Aboriginal Lands Council.
Wagonga Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Mason said that Aboriginal people had a responsibility to care for their ancestors.
“This is an emotional event for Aboriginal people. These are the remains of traditional people who were taken away from their country to be prodded, poked and studied,” Ms Mason said.
“They are our ancestors and they are part of us. It’s our responsibility to look after them and put them to rest properly.
“We are grateful for their return and relieved they are back where they belong and not kept in a shoebox somewhere in a museum.
The reburial was part of a repatriation program run by the Cultural Heritage Division of the state Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.
The Department says that it has returned the remains of 27 Aboriginal people from around the state’s south coast to their respective communities, since the last financial year.
“It’s our hope that more will be returned in the future,” Ms Mason said.
For more information on the repatriation of Aboriginal remains, please see the related links.

www.nit.com.au