39 Naga ancestral remains to return from Oxford

LONDON, SEP 8 (PTI): The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford is working with representatives from Nagaland to agree on a date for the handover ceremony of the remains of 39 Naga ancestors, who will then begin their journey home.
The museum holds the world’s largest collection of Naga material, much of it gathered by colonial administrators in the early 20th century.
The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) approached the museum earlier this year seeking their return. A Naga delegation from India is being planned to accompany the remains home.
Pitt Rivers Museum director Professor Laura Van Broekhoven said it had been “humbling” to witness the collective consultation led by FNR and Recover, Restore and Decolonise (RRaD) team. Since 2020, the museum has worked with the FNR, RRaD, tribal Hohos, elders, churches and communities across the Naga homeland on how the ancestors should be cared for and returned.
In February 2026, the University of Oxford received an FNR claim for 40 ancestral remains held at the museum. The claim followed the university’s procedures for returning cultural objects and was approved by the Oxford University Council on July 13, 2026. The council approved the return of 39 remains but declined one, saying it did not have “clear provenance as Naga”.
The museum said the handover date was being worked out and the remains would return home accompanied by a Naga delegation comprising leaders and elders of several tribal Hohos, along with FNR and RRaD members.
The remains were on display until 2020, when the museum removed all human remains from display.
The Naga-Oxford Declaration calls for a dignified rest for the ancestors and the establishment of a Naga monument of healing and peace symbolising Naga unity. It also expresses solidarity with Indigenous peoples seeking repatriation.
Official records show the first Naga ancestral remains were given to the museum over a century ago by colonial administrator and anthropologist John Henry Hutton. Most were brought to Oxford by Hutton and fellow administrator-anthropologist James Philip Mills between 1910 and 1940.