UCLA returns cultural relics to the Warumungu community in Australia

Two teams worked with Warumungu elders to identify 20 objects of cultural importance to the Warumungu community.

The Fowler Museum at UCLA returned 20 significant items with cultural importance to the Warumungu community of Tennant Creek who have lived in the Northern Territory, Australia, for thousands of years. The repatriation on Wednesday, July 24, was initiated by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).

Since March of 2021, the AIATSIS Return of Cultural Heritage program team has worked with Warumungu elders and the Fowler’s team to identify 20 objects of cultural importance to the Warumungu community that were given back on Wednesday.

Fowler and AIATSIS described the objects as including clubs, fighting picks, knives, sheaths and a boomerang. Those attending included Warumungu Elders Cliff Plummer Jabarula and William (Bill) Ah Kit Jakamarra; California state Sen. Ben Allen; California Tribal Affairs Secretary Christina Snider-Ashtari; Leonard Hill, interim CEO at AIATSIS; and several other officials.

Tanya Bennett, the Australian Consul-General in Los Angeles, said in a prepared statement, “This is a significant event for Australia and California. It underlines the importance of working in genuine partnership with Indigenous Peoples to share knowledge and foster understanding and respect.”

Michael Jones Jampijinpa, a senior Warumungu, said in a prepared statement that young people in his community “can’t just learn about whitefella stuff, they got to learn our ways too — our culture.” He noted that many artifacts were taken long ago, “but we know what they’ve been used for (in the past) and how important it is.”

Linda Burney, the minister for Indigenous Australians, noted in a prepared statement, “The return of these items to the Warumungu community is a wonderful moment which I hope brings joy to the traditional owners.”