Naga repatriation: A Historical Step in the Naga Journey Towards a Future of Wholeness

One of our leaders, Thejao Vihinuo, President of the Angami Public Organisation, echoed the Naga sentiments during the Opening Session on June 9 when he said, ‘As we come to visit the remains of our ancestors, our hearts are filled with grief, and we are in anguish for the humiliation that our ancestors were subjected to even after death. But we take comfort in the fact that these remains of our ancestors have stood here in Pitt Rivers Museum for many years, silently proclaiming the history of the Nagas.’ He adds, ‘if you can see the remains of our ancestors as we are doing here today and acknowledge the history they speak of, this process of repatriation will go a long way in healing the wounds of all people involved.’

It is in this spirit that we participated in meaningful conversations and dialogues, insights and reflections as we closely examined the return process and the way forward. We remain grateful to all those who have extended their acts of solidarity and friendship throughout this time.

Allow me to introduce the members of this delegation:

I request the Elders and Leaders of the Naga Tribe Hohos, who represent the voice of the people to please stand where they are and as they remain standing, I call the members of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, who have been working for the healing and reconciliation of the Naga people to stand. Now Recover, Restore and Decolonise, the young voices who are engaging with the Naga communities on the question of repatriation, please stand. This is the Naga delegation.

I invite the Nagas living in the UK and elsewhere to also stand with the Naga delegation. I now invite all those who have worked or been associated with Nagas to stand with us in solidarity. I now request all those seated to please stand with us in the spirit of a shared humanity.

I urge all of you to move around shake hands to greet each other.

Thank you. I pay my respects to my elders and leaders past, present and emerging.

The Beginning

In the second half of 2020, when the world was still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 and learning to cope with the pandemic-induced lockdown, Professor Dolly Kikon shared with FNR the PRM’s initiatives with different communities to return ancestral human remains taken during the British colonial period. After some back and forth discussions, the FNR had its first meeting – via zoom with the PRM on November 3, 2020, which Professor Dolly Kikon and Professor Arkotong Longkumer were a part of.

The initial discussions focused on examining issues together around colonial violence and repatriation of ancestral remains, the processes and procedures involved, and its intersection with reconciliation, healing and decolonisation. This led to an internal dialogue within the FNR, before reaching out to the Naga people.

In his Discourse on Colonialism, Aimé Césaire points out that, ‘Museums are only possible when one culture systematically steals the creations of others.’ The Indigenous experiences inform us that the relationship between colonial knowledge and colonial rule has been central to the process of one culture consuming and digesting the other. Indeed, for Indigenous Peoples, museums have been symbols which represent ideas of victor’s justice, might is right and survival of the fittest. Ultimately, they became the keepers and storehouses of colonial knowledge from the cultural other.

While mindfully aware of this historical perspective, FNR recognises and respects the intended shift of the Pitt Rivers Museum’s Committed to Change steered by its Strategic Plan with Radical Hope to engage with communities to be part of a redressal process which includes ‘social healing, and the mending of historically difficult relationships through collaborations which involve listening, learning and inspiring creativity.’ It says, ‘By unearthing and undoing through redress, we aim to work together to reimagine these museums as spaces in which reconciliation might be able to come about.’

Intrigued by this encouraging initiative about Radical Hope, FNR reciprocated by agreeing to facilitate a journey of internal reflection and community engagement to elicit a Naga response regarding the ‘future care and/or return’ of Naga ancestral human remains currently stored in the museum.

Recognising the need for a Naga-led process that is inclusive, participatory, and collaborative, the FNR reached out to Naga organisations. One of FNR’s predicaments was the fact that many Nagas were unaware that their ancestors were displayed for decades in museums at the PRM and other European museums. Since people were only beginning to learn about this, the initial reactions were diverse. Critical questions were raised about the relevance and timing of engaging with repatriation when the Naga people were embroiled with pressing issues affecting the quality of daily life. Some questioned whether FNR was the appropriate Forum to be even involved, let alone facilitate this process.

From the outset, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation was clear that it would serve as a facilitator to seek the Naga people’s consent, participation and active support, specifically from the Naga tribe hohos, the Churches, civil society and members of the public. After all, the people alone will determine the future status and care of the Naga ancestral remains. The process generated cautious optimism which focused on engaging with communities by creating awareness, addressing fears and assumptions, confronting colonial stereotypes and labelling, and exploring how to take this journey forward.

The incremental process generated a spectrum of intergenerational responses based on their experiences. Generally, the younger generation were more open and enthusiastic with an opportunity to be rooted in their stories and culture. One the other hand, the older generation were more deliberate and raised broader questions around historical injustices and trauma, the legacy of colonialism, the need for accountability coupled with the politics of apology.

All these creative tensions heightened the public need for more detailed information, not just about repatriation and the procedures involved, but also provenance, description, the nature and context through which the remains were acquired and taken away, and by whom. The Why and How became important points of public discourse. These questions highlighted the need to have a dedicated team of volunteers that would begin designing and guiding the process along with the communities.

Consequently, FNR formed the Recover, Restore and Decolonise (RRaD) team. Their methodology is based on a participatory action research design with Naga communities which is generating public awareness, strengthening networks and developing a Naga response, an evidence-based case, to the repatriation of ancestral human remains. The RRaD team has been instrumental in strengthening the process from the ground up, as well as nurturing critical solidarity and partnerships with fellow Indigenous Peoples involved in recovery of ancestral remains and decolonisation.

Reverend Dr. Ellen Konyak, the Coordinator of the RRaD team, will be sharing with you in greater detail their experiences and learning. However, allow me to refer to three reflections that are interweaving and shaping the emerging narrative.

1. In several meetings facilitated by the FNR with elders and leaders, many pointed out that repatriation must not be intended to cover the shame and guilt of colonial history. They emphasised the need for redressal of wrongs, sincere gestures of regret, and healing need to be part of the repatriation process.

2. Konyak leader, Reverend Peihwang Wangsa, who is part of this delegation, told the RRaD team when they met in Mon that, ‘Whatever the reason maybe, the British took away human remains from our villages. If they had buried them without our knowledge, it would have been good too. If we did not know that our ancestral remains are in the museums, it would have been fine. However, now that we know that they exist and are stored in boxes, the guilt will always remain … if we do not bring them back. I think it is good that we bring them back now. I don’t think we should create another museum like the British. We should bury them peacefully and lay them to rest.’

3. In a RRaD community engagement in Longleng, an elder told the gathering, “How can our ancestors be at peace when they are hung on museum walls. Their spirits must be restless.” The spirits of the ancestors boxed in the museum are not just restless but are longing for a dignified closure and rest. And, in a metaphorical sense, the ancestors have reconnected the present generations to unlocking the past so that the future may no longer be caged.

In the September Dialogue 2024 on Repatriation, Decolonisation and Healing, Dr Wati says, ‘Repatriation, then, is the process of re-establishing relationships and building a community of nations after a long duration of silence. It offers Nagas the chance to talk about the history of colonialism and its power, mourn the dead, and reconcile with the past in an effort to muster truth and justice.’ He goes on to say that “we must allow ourselves to discuss the colonial past and our hurts and how we can move on with confidence in constructively pursuing our historical and political de facto.’

All these reflections indicate the in-depth contemplative process taking place with the growing awareness of Naga ancestral remains. As much as the process has been about learning, it has also been about unlearning and truth-telling. It is opening spaces for individuals and communities to imagine anew and recognise the importance of self-definition because colonial knowledge continues to negatively impact by creating and perpetuating stereotypical images and prejudices.

When the concept of repatriation was new to the Naga consciousness, the discussions tended to converge around the outcome and the status of the human remains, rather than on the process itself. Today, the dialogue process is peeling away the many layers as a new realisation dawn that many of the ancestral human remains and cultural objects were taken without people’s knowledge and consent. This is opening the space for a fresh understanding of the impact of the colonial era, and how it contributed towards cultural displacements that took place in the various Naga village republics.

Repatriation is not only about returning ancestral human remains, but of creating a new narrative in partnership, as well as thinking and interacting differently. The emerging imagination points to the need for a multi-layered and interdisciplinary approach within the framework of humanisation, which involves restoring a peoples’ dignity and respect. This requires transformative thinking and offering alternative paradigms to address historical trauma and ongoing injustices through restorative justice and healing.

A Journey Towards Healing

For Indigenous Peoples like the Nagas, with a long history of conflict, we are constantly searching for solutions to our problems, rebuilding our communities from the historical trauma of conflict and violence, and engaging in the praxis of reconciliation to heal the brokenness.

If we can pause this moment and look at the increasing cycles of violence, fragmentation and polarization in the world today, can we ask ourselves what does it mean to dream and imagine again? Our current inability to constructively address the burdens of history continues to define everyday life and obstructs the way forward. It is far easier to reinforce uncertainties and widen differences rather than reconnect and rebuild relationships that strengthen peaceful coexistence and harmony.

I think of the Naga hearth made of three stones. Each of these stones represents a different role and they serve as a platform to create space for the fire to burn where fuel and oxygen meet. Each of these stones needs to be the same height and planted firmly on the ground so that the pot resting on it is balanced. If one of the stones is taller than the other two, the pot will be unstable. Today, let us imagine that the three stones are: Humanisation, JustPeace and Healing, the embodied aspirations of many people. Can our combined imaginations be the means for the stones to interact and cooperate to create energy?

Healing for Indigenous Peoples is central when addressing the historical trauma transferred from generation to generation. It provides them with an opportunity to move beyond their pervasive sense of victimhood caused by colonisation, exploitation, militarisation, including loss of land, spirituality, and culture. But it does not end there, the process needs to also include those responsible for their dehumanising condition.

Winona LaDuke, while speaking On Redemption says, ‘the perpetrators also carry the weight of the crime and becomes his own victim … in that the perpetrator’s guilt is not healthy either.’ So, ‘the process of apology and redemption, or forgiveness,’ she points out, “is a mutual healing process.’

To enable mutual healing, Indigenous Peoples need to address their own hurts and allow healing to take place so that they can enter a process with the perpetrators of injustice on their own free will. This is the basic premise of restorative justice. The Naga people are aware that both internal and external factors are essential to address inner divisions, and the historical injustices caused from the outside.

FNR convenor Dr Wati Aier emphasizes that, ‘Somewhere in the repatriation process, acknowledgment of historical injustices, hurts, and anger must occupy an important moment for addressing past wrongs to arrive at reconciliation.’ He says, ‘Repatriation involves a willing sender and a willing receiver, and as both parties commit to the process of repatriation, both groups involved must prudently review their own history and envision their future.’ Contextually, Dr Wati emphasizes that, ‘reconciliation between the willing sender and the willing receiver must work for the removal of socio-cultural-politico contradictions of the historical past. Reconciliation is not achieved by simply having the ancestral human remains return home, but more importantly through the triumph over the old and the hope of new beginnings.’ In this way, we find creative, imaginative and relevant means to transcend static goals.

The Naga engagement with the world is constantly evolving with growing awareness, connections and interactions, particularly in an era of technological expansion. And we ask ourselves, how do we engage with the contradictions, turbulence and possibilities of the present times. The Indigenous world is imperfect and does not claim to have the answer. But it does provide a lens that may help us to look at the world differently, to think together, and to move together in a shared language of solidarity with strength, determination and knowledge.

In our attempt to understand the global discourses on concepts and processes affecting humanity, the need for Nagas to recover our values, spirituality, stories, dignity, and traditional wisdom and be makers of our own culture and future is even more urgent and relevant. This is integral in the search for a shared humanity. Without it, humans are removed from the process of humanisation. And when dehumanisation occurs, people become broken. Human experience shows us that broken relationships and power imbalances cannot lead to healing and peace.

The repatriation process is creating intentional spaces with new possibilities for Nagas to question the history passed on to us by others, to take ownership by telling our stories and sharing our perspectives, to recognise the need to address the inter-generational trauma and begin the process of healing. It symbolizes the act of uncaging and beginning an intergenerational process of restoring rightful ownership and unlocking a constructive process where Naga people in our search for the emancipated self are empowered to be perpetually transforming, creating the new.

In Conclusion - A Matrix

Repatriation is not a straightforward linear process, nor should it be. This is because the process itself is dynamic as it deeply engages with the roots of power and relationships within the interplay of creating a safe space where the future, the past and the present meet. And, therefore, many times good intentions and complementary relationships are not sufficient, it requires vigilantly upholding the integrity and accountability of the process by all sides involved.

Since our arrival, the Naga delegation has been reflecting on the progress. We believe this historic visit has given us an opportunity to broaden a substantive relationship with PRM. In this, we hope that the FNR and PRM will have the confidence to weave repatriation and reconciliation into a holistic process that is multifaceted, addresses historical injustices, heals emotional wounds, and mends broken relationships between peoples.

This needs to enable a deeply transformative and decolonising process that leads to reclaiming our identities, histories, dignity, and spiritual connections after generations of historical trauma. FNR calls for a long-term committed partnership based on radical hope, trust, statesmanship, humility, sincerity and the will to agree on a strategic plan that connects and carries us into the future.

We have also been reminded that in October 2015, the student-led protest movement Rhodes Must Fall tweeted that “The Pitt Rivers Museum is one of the most violent spaces in Oxford.’ And walking around the PRM and Oxford, amid history, we need to ask ourselves whether we can muster the courage to imagine – where imagination has the emancipatory capacity to create a space for humanisation where Repatriation, Healing and Decolonisation meet in harmony. So, we ask, can the University of Oxford imagine itself as a safe space for mobilising imagination for healing across cultures and boundaries, with the Pitt Rivers as the fulcrum?

For Indigenous Peoples, mobilising imagination is to overcome the colonial legacies and recover their lands, their lives and their self-determining capacities where the processes of Humanisation, JustPeace and Healing meet to unlock a pathway to a shared humanity. An Indigenous leader in Asia said this notion of emancipation, ‘is based on teleological freedom – the freedom to become who we are meant to be, to be agents of justice, peace and healing.’

And yet, by implication, this process is not about glorifying Indigenous institutions, nor does it mean a total rejection of the positive values from other cultures. Rather, the process must serve as an interdisciplinary and intercultural pathway towards creating a humanising culture where all people reclaim their past, present and future. It is about setting these realities into motion by transcending the current conditions to imagine what justice, peace, healing, reconciliation, and repatriation represents to all of us.

Today, this Naga delegation has come to reconnect with the ancestors and begin the process of repatriation. Today, our leaders have made a historic declaration. And therefore, when the next delegation comes, it must be to take our ancestors home and give them and the people a chance for the restless spirits to have a dignified closure and rest.

Thank you for your presence here today and patiently listening!