Museum to return Maori skulls to NZ

Museum to return Maori skulls to NZ: "A delegation of Maori, New Zealand's indigenous people who make up about 15 per cent of the population, is expected to travel to Chicago to bring back the bones."

There's a cliche - you do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. This is the right thing to do. These bones and artefacts are the relatives of people. It is important to accept and understand that. It is also important that you offer to do the right thing. It is true that we all have a fascination with other cultures, and tribal cultures around the world are of immense interest to people and so the things we have acquired through dubious means, because we were hugely fascinated, need to be offered back to the cultures of origin. For indigenous cultures they are normal. They are their people and their things. I don't think we should apologise because we have a huge interest. That's a good thing. There is a reason why tribal things are a big market and a constant draw card. They are about something we need to understand and know. It would be far better to involve indigenous cultures in the development of the sharing of their cultures with other nations. It is important we do not have things out of context and it is important we have people who understand the significance to draw the picture for us. All of this would be a great intercultural enterprise. I have been fortunate that some tribal cultures I have visited have been so willing to share their ceremonies and traditions with me. They have taken great pains to help me understand what it means to them and to let me try and experience that feeling myself. Tribal people are very good teachers because that is how they teach their tribe and their people. I find by being there , showing an interest and respect and learning how to speak to them appropriately is how you become very honoured. I count myself as very fortunate and I think we should share these things because they really do mean something...but indigenous things need to be in the hands of indigenous people because they truly can communicate their significance and value. We need to learn how to involve them in teaching us to know what we seem to be driven to understand and we haven't got our methods quite right.