Oxford University To Return 39 Naga Ancestral Remains Taken During Colonial Rule

The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has agreed to repatriate 39 human remains belonging to the Naga people that are currently held at the Pitt Rivers Museum.

The decision comes after six years of efforts by Naga tribal leaders, elders, academics and members of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and Recover, Restore and Decolonise (RRaD).

The return is expected to be a significant moment for the Naga community, with representatives preparing to travel to the United Kingdom to formally claim the ancestral remains and accompany them home to Nagaland.

The Remains Were Taken During Colonial Rule

The Pitt Rivers Museum has one of the world's largest collections of Naga objects, with around 8,000 items linked to the Naga people. The collection includes human remains, mainly skulls, as well as 178 objects that contain or may contain human hair.

Human remains were often taken from communities across Asia, Africa and other parts of the world during the colonial period. Some were brought to Britain and other European countries as trophies, while others were traded, displayed or studied. The Pitt Rivers Museum removed all human remains from public display in 2020.

Six Years Of Efforts Led To The Decision

The repatriation process formally began in 2020, when Pitt Rivers Museum director Prof. Laura Van Broekhoven approached the FNR about facilitating the return of the Naga remains.

The FNR then worked with Naga academics Prof. Dolly Kikon and Prof. Arkotong Longkumer to establish RRaD. The group has since worked with tribal Hoho leaders, civil society organisations, churches, students and communities across the Naga homeland to build awareness around the repatriation process.

A major step came in June 2025, when a Naga delegation visited the Pitt Rivers Museum for discussions with museum officials.

Following those consultations, the delegation issued the Naga Oxford Declaration on Repatriation on June 13, 2025. It acknowledged the long delay in bringing the ancestral remains home and reaffirmed the community's commitment to their return and dignified burial.

Oxford Confirmed The Return In July

The University of Oxford formally agreed to return the 39 remains on July 13, 2026. Prof. Van Broekhoven conveyed the decision in a letter to Rev. Dr. Wati Aier, convenor of the FNR. The decision now allows preparations for the remains to be brought back to their homeland to move forward.

The handover is expected to take place in November. According to the Pitt Rivers Museum, this will be its largest repatriation of human remains to date.

Naga Delegation Will Accompany The Remains Home

A delegation led by Naga Tribe Hoho leaders, along with representatives of FNR-RRaD, will travel to the Pitt Rivers Museum to formally claim and accompany the ancestral remains back to Nagaland. Preparations for the return and memorial ceremonies are expected to begin in the coming months.

The announcement was made during the inaugural session of the September Dialogue in Dimapur on Saturday. The session, themed “Returning to Wholeness Through Healing”, brought together Naga community leaders and representatives involved in the repatriation effort.

Why The Return Matters To The Naga Community

For the Naga community, the repatriation is about more than bringing human remains back from Britain. At the press briefing, Rev. Dr. Wati Aier described the return as a turning point for collective restoration and connected it to the wider history of colonial violence, cultural fragmentation and the loss of ancestral memory.

He also spoke about the need for the community to approach the return as an opportunity for healing and reconciliation.

The September Dialogue will continue this discussion through sessions involving community leaders, scholars and researchers. The programme will look at repatriation, trauma healing, reconciliation and decolonisation, alongside an art exhibition and video documentary.

The return of the 39 ancestral remains will therefore mark both the end of a long effort to bring them home and the beginning of another process: deciding how they will be remembered, honoured and laid to rest in Nagaland.

(With inputs from various sources)

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