Sinn Féin spokesperson on Culture, Arts and Sport, Nicola Brogan MLA, has welcomed a decision to return ancestral human remains to their country of origin in Hawaii.

It comes three years after ancestral human remains and sacred artefacts were repatriated to Hawaii by National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) in 2022. 

Speaking on this the West Tyrone MLA said:

“I welcome the leadership being shown by the Ulster Museum to repatriate ancestral human remains to their native Hawaii, where they can be preserved by the communities who have a cultural attachment to them.

“The remains and sacred objects had been taken from Hawaii in 1840 without consent and it is right and appropriate that they be returned.”

Ms Brogan commended the Ulster Museum for their efforts in finding the items in order to make this happen, adding:

“This is a significant decision and one which should be replicated by other museums including the British Museum in London who continue to hold on to artefacts that were stolen during conquest and colonialism, including those items taken from Ireland.”