Pressmeddelande -
The National Museums of World Culture to return objects to Mexico
The Swedish Government has approved a request from the National Museums of World Culture to return 24 objects to the Yaqui indigenous people in Mexico. Among the objects is the ceremonial deer head Maaso Kova. In its request to the Government, the authority stated that the return could be based on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The objects, several of which have been used in dance ceremonies, were acquired during scientific fieldwork in Mexico between 1934 and 1935 and have been part of the collection of the Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm.
The formal request for repatriation was received from the Mexican government by the National Museums of World Culture in February 2021. The matter had been under investigation for some time, and it had been concluded that there were no valid legal grounds for a return based on the circumstances of the objects' acquisition. Nevertheless, in dialogue with the UN body Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) and other interested parties, the National Museums of World Cultureconsidered that a return could instead be made based on the 1970 UNESCO Convention (Article 15) and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 12).
- We have been working on this issue for a long time and have carried out a thorough investigation based on the regulations and legislation that Sweden has to comply with, says Ann Follin, Director General of the National Museums of World Culture.
- We are now interpreting these objects in a new light together with the groups that originally created and used them. The conclusion was that the importance for the Yaqui in Mexico of recovering the objects outweighs our museum mission. Now we can take the next step and, through continued dialogue, build knowledge about the situation of the Yaquis today and for the future.
The National Museums of World Culture will now start planning for the handover of the objects. This will be done in cooperation with the Mexican Embassy in Stockholm.
Press contact:
Tina Sjögren
Press Officer, National Museums of World Culture
tina.sjogren@varldskulturmuseerna.se
+46 703-16 73 97
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Världskulturmuseerna/Statens museer för världskultur har den svenska regeringens uppdrag att visa och levandegöra världens kulturer. Vår verksamhet bedrivs på Etnografiska museet, Medelhavsmuseet, Östasiatiska museet i Stockholm samt på Världskulturmuseet i Göteborg, där också myndigheten har sitt säte. Tillsammans ansvarar vi för 460 000 föremål och många berättelser - en stor del av det internationella kulturarv som finns i Sverige. Vi dokumenterar och belyser olika kulturers yttringar, villkor och möten. Vi främjar tvärvetenskaplig kunskapsuppbyggnad och har alltid vår publik i fokus. I vårt uppdrag ingår att nå besökare också genom vandringsutställningar och samarbetsprojekt.
