Australian Museum Repatriates Rapa Nui Ancestral Remains to Easter Island, Marking Latest Restitution of Human Remains

After 144 years in the collection of the Australian Museum, the ancestral remains of 17 Rapa Nui people have finally begun their journey home. In a formal ceremony held in Sydney in mid-July, the museum officially transferred custodianship of the remains—along with a sample of human hair—back to a delegation from Rapa Nui, the remote Polynesian territory of Chile widely known as Easter Island.[1][3]

The handover was marked by deep emotion, featuring Fijian farewell songs, the strumming of a ukulele, and a ceremonial exchange by the delegates. Australian Museum Director and CEO Kim McKay delivered an unreserved apology on behalf of the institution, her voice trembling as she acknowledged that the museum had participated in the purchase of human remains taken without consent from resting places that were never meant to be disturbed.[3][4]

The remains, known to the Rapa Nui people as Ivi Tupuna, were removed from sacred burial sites at Rano Raraku in September 1882. A German naval expedition led by Captain Wilhelm Geiseler aboard the SMS Hyäne extracted the bones during an era when European, American, and Australian institutions fiercely competed to acquire cultural and biological specimens from distant lands.[1][3]

The following year, in 1883, the Australian Museum purchased the 17 skulls and the hair sample. For over a century, the ancestors were held within the natural science and culture institution, treated as objects of study rather than as human beings. The recent repatriation is the culmination of a two-year consultation process initiated by the museum's Pasifika team, aimed at addressing the archaic and harmful collecting practices of the colonial era.[1][4]

For the Rapa Nui people, the return of the Ivi Tupuna is a matter of profound spiritual urgency. Carlos Edmunds Paoa, president of the Council of the Elders of Rapa Nui, explained that each bone will be returned to its original place under an ahu—the ceremonial platforms that serve as the base for the island's famous megalithic statues, the moai.[1]

According to traditional Rapa Nui beliefs, when a tribal chief died, their skull and limb bones were placed beneath an ahu. This sacred placement ensured that the deceased leader would continue to live on and protect their people through the towering stone moai. Removing these bones severed that spiritual connection, and their return is viewed as restoring the island's protective ancestral power.[1]

The repatriation impacts the entire island community. Uncle Carlos Paoa noted that all 36 tribes living on Rapa Nui have been awaiting this event, as human remains were taken from various clan territories across the island. The delegation emphasized that the Ivi Tupuna are not merely historical artifacts, but their grandparents and leaders who deserve a dignified rest.[4]

This restitution by the Australian Museum is part of a broader global movement by Indigenous communities to reclaim their heritage. In 2024, the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo repatriated 11 boxes of bone remains and archaeological pieces taken by the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl in the mid-20th century, building on previous returns in 1986 and 2006.[1]

However, the successful return of human remains has renewed focus on the artifacts that Western institutions still refuse to relinquish. The most prominent dispute involves the British Museum, which holds two stone moai statues, including the giant Hoa Hakananai'a. Despite repeated appeals from the Rapa Nui community, the London institution maintains possession of the statues.[1][2]

The British Museum has acknowledged the significance of Hoa Hakananai'a and the impact of its removal, but argues that the statue's presence in London plays a vital role in global public understanding of Rapa Nui history. This stance is supported by some classical archaeologists, such as UK-based Mario Trabucco della Torretta, who argue against overturning historic arrangements.[2]

Trabucco della Torretta contends that in the specific case of Hoa Hakananai'a, there is "no wrong to be righted." He points to historical reports from 1869 suggesting that Rapa Nui locals actively assisted British sailors from the HMS Topaze in excavating the moai and transporting it to the ship, arguing that the acquisition was legitimate by the standards of the time.[2]

The debate highlights the differing frameworks governing restitution. Unlike the United States, which enforces the repatriation of Native American remains through the legally binding Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Australia relies on voluntary agreements, institutional policy, and ethical guidelines to facilitate returns.[4]

For the 17 Tupuna, the long journey has finally concluded. After departing Sydney, the remains arrived in Santiago, Chile, on July 17, where they were received in a ceremony led by the Chilean undersecretary of cultural heritage. From there, they were flown across the Pacific to Rapa Nui, welcomed home by the islanders to finally resume their protective watch over Te Pito o te Henua—the Navel of the World.[1]