In a solemn ceremony held in Washington D.C., the Smithsonian Institution formally transferred the ancestral remains of twelve individuals to the Tiwi Land Council. The remains, which were collected by anthropologists in the late 1800s, will be returned to the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin for traditional burial. This repatriation is part of the Smithsonian's Ethical Returns Policy, which seeks to address the historical injustices of colonial-era collection practices.
Tiwi elders present at the ceremony performed a Pukumani ritual, emphasizing that the return of these ancestors is essential for the spiritual healing of the community. The handover also included several sacred ceremonial objects that had been held in the National Museum of Natural History. Tiwi leaders expressed hope that this move will encourage other international institutions to follow suit and return Indigenous Australian heritage to its rightful traditional owners.