Quote:
US gives back Arnhem Land ancestral remains
By Louisa Rebgetz
Mon Jul 5, 2010
Traditional owners from Arnhem Land are on their way back from the United States with the remains of elders that were taken from burials 62 years ago.
In 1948, a team of Americans and Australians travelled through Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory on a scientific expedition.
As well as collecting data and artefacts, the group also took the skeletal remains of Indigenous people buried in sites across the region.
The remains have been stored in Washington's Smithsonian Institute ever since.
At the weekend, traditional owners from Groote Eylandt, Gunbalanya and Milingimbi were handed back nine Indigenous ancestral remains by the institute.
Ray Specht, 85, who is one of only two surviving members of the expedition, says he didn't know the bones were collected.
"I didn't ever see these skeletons and packages being taken away," he said.
"I was so busy collecting plants and getting information of the usage of the plants.
"They should have been returned long, long ago [and] at long last they have been."
The Federal Government has welcomed the return of the remains.
It says about 1,150 Indigenous remains have been returned to Australia from six countries since 1990 but a further 1,000 still remain in museums and private collections around the world.
The Government is calling for the unconditional repatriation of the remains.
Source:
ABC NewsGuan
