Schatz on largest repatriation of cultural items in Hawaiian history: ‘Long overdue’

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) has spoken out following the University of California, Berkeley’s recent return of 335 Native Hawaiian cultural items –including 34 sacred items – back to Hawai‘i.

UC Berkeley’s return of the items is believed to be the largest single repatriation of cultural items in Hawaiian history, according to Berkeley News.

“For more than three decades, museums and universities have ignored federal law and delayed the return of thousands of stolen Native remains and cultural items,” said Schatz, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

“While this is long overdue, I thank UC Berkeley for hearing our calls and returning hundreds of Native Hawaiian cultural items back to where they belong,” Schatz continued.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Schatz has been leading efforts to push institutions to comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. In February 2022, Schatz led an oversight hearing, and last year, he led a bipartisan group of senators in urging UC Berkeley and other colleges and museums that possess the largest known amounts of ancestral remains and cultural items to expeditiously return them to their home communities.

The Berkeley News reported the sacred items – which had been kept for decades at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology – “included an ʻōpuʻu (pendant), ʻumeke (bowl), ihe (spear), lei niho palaoa (human hair necklaces with whale tooth pendants), lei lauoho (human hair necklaces) and lei hulu (feather necklaces).”