The Wire

The 19th Century was the heyday of evolutionary anthropology – museums and universities all round the world were greedily acquiring indigenous remains in the hope of finding that elusive “missing link”. Australia was no exception and – with reward money offered for every indigenous body – thousands of Aboriginal remains were stolen. From the theft of bodies from mortuaries, to the digging up of graves and the bodies of massacre victims being taken, these remains were then distributed to research institutions all round the world. While the repatriation of Aboriginal remains is now policy in Australia, there are still hundreds of skeletons and body parts in international and national institutions that are yet to be returned. Indigenous activists spoke about the ongoing difficulties of reclaiming the “first stolen generation” at the recent Talking Up River Forum held as part of the Message Sticks Festival, in Sydney. Christine Baker spoke to Bob Weatherall, Cultural Officer for the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research, who has been campaigning for the return of Aboriginal remains for the past twenty years; and also Michael Pickering, Repatriation Director of the National Museum of Australia.

The Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action
European Network for Indigenous Australian rights