Ceremony celebrates the return of sacred objects from overseas to Alice Springs

Senior Arrente lawmen welcomed the repatriation of sacred objects to Alice Springs from the United Kingdom.

SENIOR Arrente lawmen welcomed the repatriation of 19 sacred objects to Alice Springs from the United Kingdom and the planned return of more than a dozen objects currently held in North America.

At a men’s only ceremony at the Araluen Arts centre on Tuesday, the crate containing the objects – gathered in the early 20th century by collectors – was briefly displayed, followed by speeches from dignitaries and a traditional dance ceremony.

Peter Wallace Peltharre, senior Arrente man, spoke of the importance of returning sacred objects as a means of maintaining cultural practice in Central Australia.

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“We are proud to do this work for our younger generation in teaching them our law, our way of living, and about our grandfathers and all those who lived in those days,” he said.

“So we are proud to do this for each and every one of us – for all Arrente families.”

The arrival of these items in Alice Springs follows a memorandum of understanding signed between the Manchester Museum and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) in 2019.

Chansey Paech MLA welcomed the repatriation of 19 sacred objects to Alice Springs from the United Kingdom. Picture: Lee Robinson

AIATSIS chief executive Craig Ritchie said the Manchester Museum had shown “goodwill and a cooperative spirit” throughout the repatriation process.

Territory Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Chansey Paech, said working to return sacred objects to the Indigenous community was fundamental to the existence of “strong, cultural people into the future”.

“This is important not only to Central Australia but to who we are as a nation,” the Gwoja MLA said.

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“We don’t want to see another stolen generation of stolen knowledge through people’s inability to provide access to these objects.”

The two repatriations form part of the Return to Cultural Heritage program, a project facilitating the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage material from overseas governments, collecting institutions and private collectors.

AIATSIS has identified 299 overseas collecting institutions that may hold Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage items, and has identified 105,000 objects held overseas.