First Nations Restricted Collections and Repatriation Program

Repatriation at the Australian Museum (AM) is a First Nations led program that acknowledges First Nations Peoples have the right to control their cultural heritage, and has the stated aims of contributing to reconciliation, connecting First Nations Peoples with their Restricted Collections, and providing a safe cultural process for returning the Restricted Collections to their communities of origin.

Repatriation of Ancestors and Secret/Sacred Objects, now under the umbrella term ‘Restricted Collections’, has been underway at the Australian Museum for over forty years. Repatriation was codified by the Council of Australian Museum Associations in the ‘Previous Possessions, New Obligations’ principles from 1993, and further enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. During the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, it formed the cornerstone of building relationships with First Nations communities in NSW and became an active part of the role of the AM.

The Repatriation Program now sits within the First Nations Division, is overseen by the Director, First Nations, and reports to the Australian Museum Trust. The Program is jointly funded through the ten-year ‘Returning them Home’ project at the AM, a yearly Indigenous Repatriation Program grant provided by the Commonwealth Government, and some generous philanthropic contributions.

The Repatriation Team are actively working with First Nations communities to correct and expand information relating to Restricted Collections, delving into the Australian Museum Archives and Research Library to research the original records relating Restricted Collections that provide crucial detail on provenance, and seeking communities that are willing to work with the AM on seeing their Restricted Collections returned to Country.

The Repatriation Program also collaborates with other collecting institutions around Australia to see material repatriated, and supports the Commonwealth Government’s International Repatriation Program by providing temporary storage for returning Ancestors from overseas. Importantly, the Repatriation Program is committed to practical reconciliation and is enshrined as a focus area in the AM’s Reconciliation Action Plan.

Supported by the Commonwealth Government through the Indigenous Repatriation Program grant.