British Museum Agrees to Return Naga Human Remains to India

After more than a century of storage at Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, 39 human-remains items belonging to the Naga people—including a warrior’s cranium, a woman’s skull and a young person’s jaw—will be repatriated to Nagaland by the end of the year. The remains were part of an exhibit titled “Treatment of Dead Enemies” and were labeled “headhunting trophies.” The Naga delegation announced the decision on a Saturday, marking the latest step in a long-standing repatriation effort.

New York Times

The Pitt Rivers Museum holds the world’s largest assemblage of Naga cultural objects, many acquired during the colonial era. The human remains had been displayed for over 100 years before the museum removed 120 such specimens, including the Naga items, from public display in 2020 and placed them in storage. The removal reflected growing pressure to address colonial legacies in museum collections worldwide.

New York Times

The Forum for Naga Reconciliation, a nonprofit representing Naga tribal groups, coordinated the repatriation with the museum and will oversee the creation of a “monument of healing and peace” at the remains’ new resting place in Nagaland.

New York Times

The repatriation is framed by Naga representatives as a restoration of ancestral dignity and a move toward reconciliation. A monument will be erected to mark the site, signaling a broader shift in how Western institutions handle colonial-era human remains.

New York Times

• “We bring back the light of our ancestors that was dimmed but never extinguished,” — Ellen Konyak

New York Times