Fowler Museum at UCLA returns Larrakia cultural objects to Australia

In a recent ceremony at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, 11 culturally significant objects were formally and unconditionally returned to the Larrakia people of northern Australia, marking another milestone in the museum's long-standing commitment to ethical stewardship and international repatriation.

The objects, which include 10 green glass spearheads and a kangaroo tooth headband, were collected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and have been held in the Fowler's collection for decades. Their return was the result of a multiyear collaboration between the museum, Larrakia elders and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, or AIATSIS.

"Museums play a vital role in acknowledging past wrongs and fostering meaningful cultural exchange," said Silvia Forni, the Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum. "The return of these objects reinforces our dedication to ethical stewardship and deepens our partnerships with Indigenous communities."

In addition to Forni, attendees at the May 20 handover ceremony included Larrakia representatives Tina Baum and Darryn Wilson; Tanya Bennett, Australia's general consul in Los Angeles; Lionel Popkin, interim dean of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture; and Cindy Fan, vice provost for international studies and global engagement.

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Australian minister for Indigenous Australians, praised the return as a meaningful act of cultural preservation and an important milestone for the Larrakia people.

"Safeguarding our Indigenous cultural heritage is vital to the continuation of Australia's rich and diverse First Nations cultures and ensures the stories of our ancestors are passed on," she said in a statement.

The ceremony marked the second repatriation completed by the Fowler in partnership with AIATSIS. In July 2024, the museum facilitated the return of 20 cultural objects to the Warumungu community of Tennant Creek, also in Australia's Northern Territory. That effort involved close consultation with Warumungu elders and marked one of several recent returns undertaken by the museum to prioritize community-based care for collections.

The Fowler Museum - dedicated to global arts and cultures, with a focus on Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Indigenous Americas - has been shaped by a responsibility to rethink collecting practices and to honor the voices of communities represented in its holdings.

Under Forni's leadership, the Fowler has intensified its focus on provenance research - a museum practice of tracing ownership of items from their origins onward - as well as cross-cultural collaboration and the ethical return of objects.

Also in 2024, the museum permanently returned royal regalia to the Asante kingdom in Ghana, which included objects looted by British forces in the 19th century. The museum has also returned nearly all its Native American remains and archaeological materials to tribal communities in California, Arizona, Hawaii and Utah.

The return of the Larrakia arrowheads and necklace was facilitated through AIATSIS' Return of Cultural Heritage program, which helps return Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural material held in overseas institutions.

The Larrakia people, known as the Saltwater People, are the traditional custodians of the land that now includes the city of Darwin. Larrakia community members say the return of these objects helps restore a tangible link to the cultural practices and ancestral knowledge that were disrupted by colonial collection and dispersal.

The returned objects will be cared for and preserved according to the community's cultural traditions. As with previous returns, the Fowler Museum placed no conditions on their use.

"These materials can once again contribute to the cultural and spiritual practices of their communities," said Forni during the ceremony remarks in the museum's courtyard last month.

Displayed beneath glass, the spearheads and headband drew quiet reflection from those in attendance - a moment of reverence as Larrakia community members, diplomats and Bruins gathered to witness their return.