Two Kōimi T'chakat Moriori (Moiriori ancestors) have begun their journey home from Australia, with a special handover ceremony at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra today.
The ancestral home of the Moriori people is on the islands of Rēkohu and Rangihaute | Chatham Islands, to the southeast of New Zealand.
Representatives of the Hokotehi Moriori Trust, trustees Belinda Williamson and Jared Watty, took their karāpuna | ancestors into their care after the ceremony, which is the culmination of two years of collaboration between the National Museum of Australia, Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand (known as Te Papa), and the Moriori community.
The karāpuna will be brought to Te Papa in Wellington New Zealand, to be held in the museum's wāhi tchap (sacred repository), alongside around 512 Kōimi T'chakat Moriori currently held by the museum.
They will remain there until Moriori determine the time is right for the ancestors held by Te Papa to be returned to Rēkohu and Rangihaute | Chatham and Pitt Islands.
'These ceremonies acknowledge history and provide a space for reconciliation and restitution to occur. They give us the unique opportunity to honour our ancestors in a way that only indigenous peoples can, through our tikane (customary protocols), karakii (incantations) and rongo (song),' Hana-Maraea Solomon of the Hokotehi Moriori Trust said.
'With the support of the wonderful team at Karanga Aotearoa, we have repatriated over 400 Kōimi T'chakat Moriori from around the world. We look forward to taking all of our karāpuna home in the near future.'
Speeches at the ceremony acknowledged the long history of collecting and looting indigenous remains by museums and academic institutions from the late 1800s to the 1930s, and also the period of repatriation that began through the leadership of indigenous leaders in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1980s.
The two ancestral remains returned in today's ceremony, identified as Moriori through handwritten inscriptions, were originally part of the former Australian Institute of Anatomy's holdings. They have been with the National Museum of Australia since 2022 when they were returned by the Australian National University.
In partnership with the federal government, the National Museum of Australia runs an Indigenous repatriation program in Canberra. Since taking them into its care, the museum has worked with the Moriori community, through Te Papa, to begin the process of their return home.
Shona Coyne, First Nations Outreach Manager at the National Museum of Australia said: 'The National Museum of Australia is deeply committed to the return and honouring of ancestors back to their rightful homelands. Speaking as a First Nations person of Australia, we understand what it means to have your ancestors displaced, for we too have fought for many years to bring our ancestors home.
'Institutions, whether they are museums, universities or other entities, play a crucial role in this process. They can lead this important mahi (work) in partnerships with global indigenous peoples, much like the one we have here with our Māori and Moriori kin, to foster a collective commitment to repatriation.
'This is not a task we can do in isolation. It requires collaboration, understanding, and a genuine commitment to honouring our ancestors' legacy.'
Dr Arapata Hakiwai, Te Papa Kaihautū | Māori co-leader, joined the Te Papa delegation to the National Museum of Australia. Te Papa carries out the work of the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme, which returns ancestral remains to Aotearoa New Zealand.
'The return of these ancestors is an important act of respect, acknowledgement, and cultural restoration,' Dr Hakiwai said.
'The Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme continues to progress towards the goal of bringing home all Māori and Moriori ancestors held overseas.'
Since the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme in 2003, Te Papa has worked closely with the Moriori people to facilitate the return of their ancestors. Research indicates that approximately 550 Moriori skeletal remains were taken from Rēkohu and Rangihaute | Chatham Islands since the late 1800s. Close to 500 Moriori karāpuna have been returned to date through the programme from institutions around the world including those within Aotearoa New Zealand.
The delegation will be formally welcomed at Rongomareroa, the national marae | meeting house at Te Papa, in a private ceremony on Wednesday 12 February 2025.
