The South Australian Museum has returned 15 sacred objects to the Warlpiri people of Yuendumu in the Central Desert of the Northern Territory, ensuring the objects were returned to the where they belong.
Head of Humanities at the Museum, John Carty, said the Museum was proud to partner with the Warlpiri community to return all the objects were returned.
“This project expresses the purpose of a modern Australian Museum,” Mr Carty said,
“We are excited to serve the cultural ambitions of Aboriginal people beyond the walls of the Museum – in communities and on Country,” he said.
He said that in this case the project meant working together to bring sacred cultural materials out of the care of the Museum and back into the care of their true custodians.
“It’s a proud day for Warlpiri men but also for us as a museum,” Mr Carty said.
Senior Warlpiri men thanked the South Australian Museum for their ongoing support and partnership with Warlpiri.
The return came after two and half years of consultation and visits from the Warlpiri community to the Museum.
The Warlpiri elders visited the cultural collections five times in the past two years working alongside the museum’s Indigenous Collections and Repatriation Officer, Jamie Jungarrayi Hampton and Mr Carty
Warlpiri Elder Tommy Jangala Watson explained that the work was important because the return of sacred objects led to sharing with young people and future generations of Warlpiri.
Mr Watson said that what senior Warlpiri men had been doing the past couple of years was so important that it made them always excited and emotional when the objects came back home.
“Us men today are really happy now, Mr Watson said.
John Carty said the project expressed the purpose of a modern Australian Museum.
“We are excited to serve the cultural ambitions of Aboriginal people beyond the walls of the Museum – in communities and on Country,” Mr Carty said.
He said that meant working together to bring sacred cultural materials out of the care of the Museum and back into the care of their true custodians.
“It’s a proud day for Warlpiri men but also for us as a museum.”
Senior Warlpiri men thanked the South Australian Museum for their ongoing support and partnership with Warlpiri.
The South Australian Museum said it would continue working with the Warlpiri community and other stakeholders to return other sacred objects as soon as possible.
