What happens to indigenous objects that return from abroad?
They start a new life.
In Atuona, Hiva Oa, hopes are high for a collection of objects taken from the Marquesas over 100 years ago.
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In 2023 two museums in Europe, the Basel Museum of Culture in Switzerland and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge University, initiated the process of returning a collection of objects acquired in the Marquesas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
My research in the community in 2023 featured interviews with some 50 islanders including teachers, dancers, administrators, cultural elders, artists, tour guides and others. It revealed the layers of hope and concern surrounding this project, but most of all highlighted the enormous value of these historic objects to the Marquesans of today.
The museum known as the Gauguin Cultural Center is slated for renovation into a new space featuring Marquesan culture. As the place where Paul Gauguin died and is buried, Atuona has long struggled to position itself as both a Marquesan village and an important French heritage destination (the famous French singer Jacques Brel also spent time and died here). The current project to welcome and exhibit historic Marquesan objects from two European museums will offer islanders and their guests a new asset focused on Marquesan heritage.
Hiva Oa mayor Joelle Frebault has high hopes for the new cultural center. She and her family recently visited the European collections from which the returned objects will be selected. They commented on how “the elders will have tears in their eyes” when they see these things. While objects that were taken from the islands have been well-preserved in climate-controlled storage, the tropical heat and humidity of the Marquesas has destroyed many of those left behind. This means that most Islanders have never seen many of the beautiful works of art created by their ancestors. The return of these objects to their home will be a powerful moment of reunion.
The Basel Museum of Culture published a blog post (in French) on Joelle’s visit to their collections.
What does it mean to do community research in support of a museum repatriation?
It means a lot of talking…and even more listening.
In the summer of 2023 I spent a month living with my adoptive aunt, Maria Teikiotiu, and her husband Teuia. The town of Atuona generously provided me with a bungalow, as well, for some interviews and quiet working. But I spent most of my time visiting people in their homes and places of work in order to talk about historic objects. We chatted in French and Marquesan about the meaning of historic objects, how they were acquired by foreign museums, the existing museum, and the possibility of creating a new space for the returned objects.
Maria, Teuia and another aunt of mine, Yvette, snapped a photo with me at the airport before I left Hiva Oa in September, 2023.