National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) has announced plans to repatriate additional ancestral human remains (iwi kūpuna) to Hawaii, continuing its efforts to return culturally significant items to their rightful communities. This follows a previous repatriation in 2022, during which NMNI returned two sets of remains and five sacred cultural objects (mea kapu) to representatives from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

The museum recently located three more sets of iwi kūpuna taken from Hawaii in 1840. These remains had been included in the original repatriation request but could not be found at the time. After a comprehensive review of its collection, NMNI identified the missing remains in November 2024 and immediately informed OHA. A formal repatriation ceremony is now expected to take place in late 2025, allowing remains to be returned to their homeland.

Kamakana Ferreira, Lead Compliance Specialist at OHA, expressed deep appreciation for NMNI’s commitment to this process. He stated that his organisation is “elated” by the discovery of the missing iwi kūpuna and is looking forward to travelling to Northern Ireland in April to retrieve the remains and ensure they are laid to rest with dignity upon their return to Hawaii.

Moreover, William Blair, NMNI’s Director of Collections, emphasised the museum’s dedication to repatriation and addressing past injustice. He acknowledged that the remains and sacred objects were taken from Hawaii without consent and stressed NMNI’s commitment to working with source communities to rectify historical wrongs. As William Blair shared, “We are fully committed to the rightful repatriation of collections, ensuring that items taken without free, prior, and informed consent are returned to their communities of origin”.

Blair also recognised that the museum had faced difficulties locating the three missing sets of remains in 2022, due to the way collections were historically catalogued. However, ongoing efforts to review and document NMNI’s holdings led to their eventual discovery. “Given the 19th-century provenance of these remains and the lack of professional collection management standards at the time, it was a challenge to locate them,” he explained. “Through our ongoing review processes, we were able to identify them and immediately notify OHA.”

The upcoming repatriation marks another significant step in NMNI’s commitment to ethical museum practices and reconciliation with affected communities. As Blair noted, “We are delighted to be able to address these legacy issues and build new, positive relationships based on partnership and respect”.