The Fowler Museum in LA has repatriated 11 objects to the Larrakia community in Australia.
In a ceremony held on May 20, the museum returned the objects to the Larrakia, an Aboriginal community from the Northern Territory of Australia. The objects include glass spearheads and a kangaroo tooth headband. Collected over the 19th and 20th centuries, some of these objects are over 100 years old.
Almost half of the returned objects came from a single source: the Wellcome Trust. After the death Sir Henry Wellcome in 1936, the trust disbursed his collection of exotic artifacts. The Fowler Museums received their lot in 1965. The remaining objects came from donations of various private collectors.
The ceremony was done in the presence of Larrakia Custodians Tina Baum and Darryn Wilson. Speaking of the objects, Wilson said: “They have a time capsule feel about them. They are items that are created in the past that will allow future generations to appreciate Larrakia craftsmanship.” The repatriation was facilitated by the AIATSIS, a cultural institution that aims to safeguard the cultural heritage of Aboriginal, Indigenous, and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia. In 2018, they established the Return of Cultural Heritage (RoCH) program, which has, since its inception, enabled the return of 2,300 items to the country.
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This is not the first time that the Fowler Museum has returned cultural objects to their rightful owners. Last year, the museum and AIATSIS enabled the return of 20 objects to the Australian Wurumungu community. In February of this year, they returned 7 objects to the Asante Kingdom of Ghana. Notably, the Fowler Museum facilitates the repatriation process, including the logistics, out of its own budget.
