Vital step toward healing as ancestors returned home
The ceremony in Tokyo marks the first time ancestors have been repatriated to Australia from Japan.
The remains of seven ancestors were returned from the University of Tokyo, including a Kaurna person from South Australia.
"For many years the ancestral remains of Kaurna old people were collected by museums and universities without consent, which caused great sadness and anger, and these feelings have been carried for generations," Kaurna representative Mitzi Nam said.
"The Traditional Custodians have been tirelessly working to return the Kaurna old people to Country, so they can rest, and while past wrongs cannot be forgotten, pathways to healing can start for all generations."
The University of Kyoto returned two ancestors to representatives from communities in Western Australia, including the Bardi and Jawi communities and the Yawuru community.
The National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo returned one ancestor to Australia.
Bardi and Jawi representative Bolo Angus, from WA's Dampier Peninsula said the return of ancestors is an acknowledgement of past wrongs and showing respect for First Nations cultures.
"Repatriation is a vital step toward healing the deep wounds caused by the forced removal of our ancestors from their resting place," he said.
"For our community, it is not just about bringing bones home - it is about restoring dignity, honouring our old people, and reconnecting spirit to Country.
"This healing is not only for us, the living, but for the spirit of the ancestors who have waited so long to come home."
Neil McKenzie, a Yawuru representative from Broome, said he hopes the repatriation is a step towards reconciliation.
"The return of our Yawuru ancestor acknowledges the truth of Yawuru history and the treatment of our ancestors who were removed from Country without consent," he said.
"We hold genuine hope that this process of truth telling will enable us to gain respectful recognition, so that we can move forward in a truly reconciled manner, leading to collective healing and empowerment."
In April, 36 Queensland ancestors were repatriated from the National History Museum in London, bringing the total of repatriated ancestors from the United Kingdom to more than 1300.
More than 1700 ancestors have been returned from overseas collections to Australia with the help of the federal government.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said the government will continue to advocate for the return of ancestors to their Country and people.
"The return of these ancestors to Country, the first such repatriation from Japan, reinforces the continuing shift by collecting institutions internationally to righting some of the past injustices carried out against First Nations people," she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Water quality continues to plague largest river system
Ecosystems along Australia's biggest waterway continue to struggle despite a plan to return water to the environment showing positive signs. Murray Darling Basin Authority reports on river health have found declining native fish populations, ongoing water-quality issues and insufficient flood-plain watering despite the recovery of 2135 gigalitres of annual water entitlements to the system over 13 years. Balancing the needs of basin's environment with its 2.4 million residents, more than 50 Indigenous nations and the communities, farms and businesses that depended on it was no easy task, authority chief executive Andrew McConville said. "It's clear from the results that the Basin Plan is working, but there is more to be done," he said. "What we do next will determine the long-term health of the basin." Full implementation of the plan and its ultimate goal of returning 3200 gigalitres to the environment was a long and costly way off, with the most cost-effective approaches to water efficiency already exhausted, the report found. Hydrology reports found the basin had become hotter and drier in recent years, as increased rainfall and climate variability had produced years with strong floods or droughts but little in between. While government schemes and water management strategies had helped reduce salinity, water quality issues such as blue green algae, black water, and hypoxic water events were on the rise, in many cases leading to mass fish deaths. Native fish populations were under continued pressure, even in areas where environmental water had been returned, according to Matthew Coleman, the authority general manager who led the evaluation. "There's a lot of other drivers of native fish health," Mr Coleman told AAP. "So, barriers that don't allow fish to move up and down the river, water quality events and importantly, invasive species like carp - all of these effects are driving native fish health to be poor." Waterbird populations had improved, but were still recovering from the long-term decline recorded before the Basin Plan was adopted. As for communities along the river system, the audit found the Basin's economy and its agricultural turnover rose from $35 billion to $54 billion since 2022, but some smaller, less economically diverse towns had faced shrinking populations as their water access dried up. The evaluation report conceded more must to be done to include Traditional Owners in water management and decision-making, and noted only up to 0.2 per cent of total water allocation by volume was held by First Nations interests. The authority will hold its annual River Reflections conference in Murray Bridge, South Australia, on July 29 and 30. Ecosystems along Australia's biggest waterway continue to struggle despite a plan to return water to the environment showing positive signs. Murray Darling Basin Authority reports on river health have found declining native fish populations, ongoing water-quality issues and insufficient flood-plain watering despite the recovery of 2135 gigalitres of annual water entitlements to the system over 13 years. Balancing the needs of basin's environment with its 2.4 million residents, more than 50 Indigenous nations and the communities, farms and businesses that depended on it was no easy task, authority chief executive Andrew McConville said. "It's clear from the results that the Basin Plan is working, but there is more to be done," he said. "What we do next will determine the long-term health of the basin." Full implementation of the plan and its ultimate goal of returning 3200 gigalitres to the environment was a long and costly way off, with the most cost-effective approaches to water efficiency already exhausted, the report found. Hydrology reports found the basin had become hotter and drier in recent years, as increased rainfall and climate variability had produced years with strong floods or droughts but little in between. While government schemes and water management strategies had helped reduce salinity, water quality issues such as blue green algae, black water, and hypoxic water events were on the rise, in many cases leading to mass fish deaths. Native fish populations were under continued pressure, even in areas where environmental water had been returned, according to Matthew Coleman, the authority general manager who led the evaluation. "There's a lot of other drivers of native fish health," Mr Coleman told AAP. "So, barriers that don't allow fish to move up and down the river, water quality events and importantly, invasive species like carp - all of these effects are driving native fish health to be poor." Waterbird populations had improved, but were still recovering from the long-term decline recorded before the Basin Plan was adopted. As for communities along the river system, the audit found the Basin's economy and its agricultural turnover rose from $35 billion to $54 billion since 2022, but some smaller, less economically diverse towns had faced shrinking populations as their water access dried up. The evaluation report conceded more must to be done to include Traditional Owners in water management and decision-making, and noted only up to 0.2 per cent of total water allocation by volume was held by First Nations interests. The authority will hold its annual River Reflections conference in Murray Bridge, South Australia, on July 29 and 30. Ecosystems along Australia's biggest waterway continue to struggle despite a plan to return water to the environment showing positive signs. Murray Darling Basin Authority reports on river health have found declining native fish populations, ongoing water-quality issues and insufficient flood-plain watering despite the recovery of 2135 gigalitres of annual water entitlements to the system over 13 years. Balancing the needs of basin's environment with its 2.4 million residents, more than 50 Indigenous nations and the communities, farms and businesses that depended on it was no easy task, authority chief executive Andrew McConville said. "It's clear from the results that the Basin Plan is working, but there is more to be done," he said. "What we do next will determine the long-term health of the basin." Full implementation of the plan and its ultimate goal of returning 3200 gigalitres to the environment was a long and costly way off, with the most cost-effective approaches to water efficiency already exhausted, the report found. Hydrology reports found the basin had become hotter and drier in recent years, as increased rainfall and climate variability had produced years with strong floods or droughts but little in between. While government schemes and water management strategies had helped reduce salinity, water quality issues such as blue green algae, black water, and hypoxic water events were on the rise, in many cases leading to mass fish deaths. Native fish populations were under continued pressure, even in areas where environmental water had been returned, according to Matthew Coleman, the authority general manager who led the evaluation. "There's a lot of other drivers of native fish health," Mr Coleman told AAP. "So, barriers that don't allow fish to move up and down the river, water quality events and importantly, invasive species like carp - all of these effects are driving native fish health to be poor." Waterbird populations had improved, but were still recovering from the long-term decline recorded before the Basin Plan was adopted. As for communities along the river system, the audit found the Basin's economy and its agricultural turnover rose from $35 billion to $54 billion since 2022, but some smaller, less economically diverse towns had faced shrinking populations as their water access dried up. The evaluation report conceded more must to be done to include Traditional Owners in water management and decision-making, and noted only up to 0.2 per cent of total water allocation by volume was held by First Nations interests. The authority will hold its annual River Reflections conference in Murray Bridge, South Australia, on July 29 and 30. Ecosystems along Australia's biggest waterway continue to struggle despite a plan to return water to the environment showing positive signs. Murray Darling Basin Authority reports on river health have found declining native fish populations, ongoing water-quality issues and insufficient flood-plain watering despite the recovery of 2135 gigalitres of annual water entitlements to the system over 13 years. Balancing the needs of basin's environment with its 2.4 million residents, more than 50 Indigenous nations and the communities, farms and businesses that depended on it was no easy task, authority chief executive Andrew McConville said. "It's clear from the results that the Basin Plan is working, but there is more to be done," he said. "What we do next will determine the long-term health of the basin." Full implementation of the plan and its ultimate goal of returning 3200 gigalitres to the environment was a long and costly way off, with the most cost-effective approaches to water efficiency already exhausted, the report found. Hydrology reports found the basin had become hotter and drier in recent years, as increased rainfall and climate variability had produced years with strong floods or droughts but little in between. While government schemes and water management strategies had helped reduce salinity, water quality issues such as blue green algae, black water, and hypoxic water events were on the rise, in many cases leading to mass fish deaths. Native fish populations were under continued pressure, even in areas where environmental water had been returned, according to Matthew Coleman, the authority general manager who led the evaluation. "There's a lot of other drivers of native fish health," Mr Coleman told AAP. "So, barriers that don't allow fish to move up and down the river, water quality events and importantly, invasive species like carp - all of these effects are driving native fish health to be poor." Waterbird populations had improved, but were still recovering from the long-term decline recorded before the Basin Plan was adopted. As for communities along the river system, the audit found the Basin's economy and its agricultural turnover rose from $35 billion to $54 billion since 2022, but some smaller, less economically diverse towns had faced shrinking populations as their water access dried up. The evaluation report conceded more must to be done to include Traditional Owners in water management and decision-making, and noted only up to 0.2 per cent of total water allocation by volume was held by First Nations interests. The authority will hold its annual River Reflections conference in Murray Bridge, South Australia, on July 29 and 30.
Canberra Times
2 days ago
- Canberra Times
Water quality continues to plague largest river system
The evaluation report conceded more must to be done to include Traditional Owners in water management and decision-making, and noted only up to 0.2 per cent of total water allocation by volume was held by First Nations interests.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
First Nations people failed by Australia's superannuation system
First Nations Australians are frequently locked out of their superannuation, according to a new report that highlights systemic issues, particularly affecting people living in rural and remote areas.
