TRANSCRIPT
[Sound – footsteps]
That’s the sound of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives walking out with boxes holding the remains of 11 ancestors, now finally being returned home.
It's a part of painful past, with thousands of ancestors taken for research more than a hundred years ago.
They've since been kept at different institutions across the world, including the Museum of Natural History in England.
Indigenous elders, including Uncle Jimmy travelled across to the UK to collect the remains.
"It is a solemn occasion but it's also a very happy one and I can assure you the spirit that belong to these ancestral remains here, they are smiling."
Today, marks their journey back to their ancestral land. It's an occasion that many have been waiting a long time for, including Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO, Nathan Moran.
“That awareness that our ancestors are not home and not resting is a very disturbing thing to have on your mind and in your soul, so one by one, everyone that we bring home is a relief, it's a part of our healing, we can never truly heal until we know everyone should be where they belong and are resting where they were meant to rest.”
The ancestral remains will return to Australia this week, to communities in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the Torres Strait and even to the remote Nullabor Plains.
Another four will remain in temporary care until further research is conducted to find their community of origin; others will soon be rested in their home soil.
Ngarrindjeri Elder, Mark Koolmatrie, is one of the many taking an ancestor home.
"I never thought we'd see this day occur...The ancestor I’m taking home is from the Coorong, a waterway within Southern South Australia.”
This will be the second return under the repatriation agreement between The Oxford University Museum and the Australian government that’s been eight years in the making. Pitt Rivers Museum Director, Laura Van Broekhoven says 18 ancestral remains were repatriated from the same museum last year.
“It's taken a long time for us to now be able to say that all the ancestors that are from the continent of Australia are going home today.”
For many, the repatriation is a significant step towards healing Indigenous communities. Elder Mark says other institutions who still have their ancestors stored in their museums can help with their healing journey.
“We want to build on relationships with everybody, so it seems to be that it's okay to do what they're doing and that it too help us to heal, help us to be strengthened by the return of our ancestors."
To date, more than a thousand ancestors have been returned to Australia, but advocacy continues to bring the remaining ancestors to their land of origin.
