Oneida Indian Nation reclaims cultural property in repatriation ceremony

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Friday, November 11, 2022

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The Oneida Indian Nation has reclaimed more than 1,500 funerary objects and cultural artifacts, as well as a long-overdue apology, from Colgate University in the state of New York.

Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter accepted the repatriation of the tribe’s cultural property during a ceremony on campus on Wednesday. The items had been part of the Longyear Museum of Anthropology at Colgate.

“For decades, too many museums and other educational and cultural institutions have followed indefensible practices regarding the ancestral remains and cultural artifacts of Native Americans,” Halbritter said in a news release. “These practices have been allowed to continue under the belief that preserving history is of the ultimate importance without questioning the means of doing so. They assume it is possible while divorcing the history from the people to whom it belongs, presuming to tell our stories with stolen artifacts and unfamiliar voices. Native people’s funerary and ceremonial objects should never be the property of museums in this way.”

Colgate University President Brian Casey, left, and Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter sign documents at a repatriation ceremony in Hamilton, New York, on November 9, 2022. Photo courtesy Oneida Indian Nation

Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter speaks at a repatriation ceremony at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, on November 9, 2022. Photo courtesy Oneida Indian Nation

“Our dedication to continuing this conversation is one of the many values the Oneida Indian Nation shares with Colgate University,” Halbritter continued. “We are grateful for these efforts, but equally grateful for the university’s and museum’s understanding that they are what is required in a society that meaningfully recognizes the sovereignty and dignity of Native people.”

The tribe has been working closely with Colgate. Since 1995, some 15 Oneida ancestors, along with other cultural property, have been repatriated, according to the release.

The items repatriated on Wednesday represent one of the largest single transfers of cultural artifacts in state history, according to the tribe. Colgate University Presiden Brian Casey said the property should never have been taken from the Oneida people.

“Many of the sacred belongings being repatriated today came into the university’s possession through a collection acquired in 1959 — one that should never have been acquired,” said Casey. “For this, on behalf of this university, I humbly apologize.”

“I hope that today’s repatriation brings Colgate closer to members of the Oneida Indian Nation, both as neighbors and as partners, in continuing this important work to see that all of the Nation’s rightful belongings are properly and respectfully returned,” Casey added.

Oneida Indian Nation on Social Media

A ceremony was held at @colgateuniv today to repatriate more than 1,500 funerary objects and cultural artifacts to the Oneida Indian Nation from the @lmacolgate collections. We are grateful for this repatriation and for @PresidentCasey’s apology on behalf of the university. pic.twitter.com/0QJEHX1uHM
— Oneida Indian Nation (@OneidaNatnNews) November 9, 2022