옥스포드 박물관, 100년간 보관한 나가족 유골 35구 반환

Imagine discovering that your ancestor's remains have been kept in a foreign museum for over a century—without your knowledge or permission. For the Naga people, this was not imagination. It was reality.

The Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University recently made an important decision: it will return more than 35 sets of human remains to the Naga people. The Naga are an Indigenous group living in Northeast India and Myanmar. Their ancestors were collected by British colonial officers and scientists over 100 years ago. These remains have sat in storage at the museum ever since.

Why does this matter? In many ways, it is about basic respect. For the Naga people, these are not museum objects. They are family members who deserve to rest in their ancestral homeland. Keeping them far away, locked in drawers, felt like a wound that never healed. The return of these remains is an opportunity for the Naga to perform proper funeral rituals and honor their dead according to their own traditions.

This is not a unique case. Museums around the world are now reconsidering what they hold and who has the right to own it. The British Museum, the Natural History Museum in London, and many others have faced similar requests. Some have already begun returning Indigenous remains and sacred objects. This shift reflects a fundamental change: museums are starting to see themselves not as permanent owners, but as temporary keepers with a responsibility to listen.

The journey to this decision was long. Naga representatives traveled to Oxford, spoke with museum officials, and explained why these remains mattered to their community. They shared stories about burial practices, about respect for the dead, and about the ongoing pain of colonial history. Slowly, the museum leadership understood. They realized that keeping these remains was not helping anyone—certainly not the Naga people, and not the museum's own mission to honor human dignity.

What makes this moment hopeful is that it did not require a court order or a protest. The museum listened, thought carefully, and chose to do the right thing. This kind of voluntary return sets an example for other institutions worldwide.

Of course, questions remain. How will the remains be transported safely? What ceremonies will take place? How will this healing process unfold for the Naga community? These are conversations still happening. But the hardest step—admitting that a change was necessary—has already been taken.

The return of human remains to the Naga people is more than a museum transaction. It is a small but meaningful step toward acknowledging colonial injustice and honoring Indigenous peoples. It recognizes that some things—ancestors, sacred objects, cultural heritage—belong with the people who hold them in their hearts and their histories.

Inspired by reporting from BBC News.