“We can only sincerely ask your forgiveness and show our remorse for what was done to your people and your ancestors,” said Bremen Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte during the ceremony at the Übersee-Museum. He addressed his words to three representatives of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), who, following ritual Hawaiian prayers, had laid out the human bones of their ancestors – Hawaiian: Iwi Kūpuna – in vessels with a black cloth in the center of the room. Exactly two years and six months have passed since the OHA sent a letter to the Übersee-Museum requesting the release of human remains from the collection.
On February 1, 2022, the Bremen Senate gave its final approval. “In recent years, a strong awareness has developed in Europe that, for ethical reasons in particular, there is an urgent need to examine in detail the circumstances under which museum collections were created. This applies in particular to collections of human remains”, said Mayor Bovenschulte in his speech.
New attitude of museums to restitution
Edward Halealoha Ayau, Kalehua Caceres and Mana Caceres had traveled to Germany as OHA envoys. In their speeches, they emphasized the importance of a dignified repatriation to deliver human remains in Hawaii to their descendants and bury them there. “Much has changed over the past decade among museum professionals and anthropologists, reflecting a better understanding of indigenous peoples and the injustices inflicted on us in the past. We of course recognize this and welcome the re-humanization of these individuals and institutions,” read the OHA Board Chair Carmen Hulu shared with Lindsey in a statement read following the ceremony.
The Overseas Museum in Bremen
Bringing ancestors back to Hawaii with respect
Edward Halealoha Ayau emphasized the special position of the deceased for the indigenous population of Hawaii, who would not be forgotten following their death, but on the contrary would take “an even higher position”. Ayau is part of Hui Iwi Kuamo’o. Hui means group, Iwi means bone and the word Kuamo’o means backbone or way. Hui Iwi Kuamo’o sees it as his duty to find all ancestors and bring them with great respect to Hawaii for ceremonial burial so their spirits can return. During the ceremony, those present were splashed with water – as part of a ritual to ensure the remains are returned clean.
Wiebke Ahrndt, director of the Übersee-Museum
The Übersee-Museum in Bremen houses a collection of ethnographic, commercial and natural history objects and has other human remains in its depots, most of which are said to come from Europe and the former German colony of New Guinea. Discussions were also being held there regarding the return, according to Wiebke Ahrndt, director of the Übersee-Museum.
“We are responsible for the mistakes of our predecessors. It is our job to do our part to correct past injustices,” said Ahrndt. Under her leadership, the German Museum Association drew up recommendations on how to deal with human remains in museums and collections.
Origin of human remains unknown
The ceremony in Bremen is part of a major initiative to repatriate Iwi Kūpuna from Hawaii. International collections are involved. “These returns allow us to heal as a Lāhui[Hawaiian nation],” said Kalehua Caceres.
On this year’s tour of Germany and Austria, the delegation will receive 58 Iwi Kūpuna, stolen from Hawaii over a century ago, from four different institutions in Germany and one in Austria. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation will take part in the return ceremonies, as will the universities of Göttingen and Jena.
Minister of State for Culture Roth is committed to restitution
“Human remains from colonial contexts have no place here,” said Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth and, according to the statement, emphasized that the return “must have top priority”. Colonial history left many wounds. Germany must do its part to ensure that these wounds can be closed, “by returning them, by consistently coming to terms with and confronting our colonial past, and through greater international cultural exchange.”
Mana Caceres (l) and Kalehua Caceres sign the handover documents
In Berlin alone, the historical anthropological collections include around 7,700 human remains from almost every part of the world. About 40 percent of them have a colonial acquisition background from the former German overseas territories in Africa and the Pacific region.
