In 2018 Manatū Taonga surveyed New Zealand museums about ancestral human remains that were held in their collections, and the support they needed to undertake repatriations to descendant communities. The main finding was that there are about 3300 sets of human remains in New Zealand museum collections, predominantly Māori and Moirori. Museums are now researching provenance of ancestral human remains in their care to enable the next steps of domestic repatriation.
Human Remains in New Zealand Museums : report on the survey of ancestral human remains held by New Zealand museums (PDF 482 KB)
Human Remains in New Zealand Museums : report on the survey of ancestral human remains held by New Zealand museums (Word 281 KB)
Updated on 23rd November 2022