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Djungan artist Jimmy Archer pictured with his two daughters Lesley ( left ) and Connie . Picture : Supplied .
A long way home
JCU returns sacred objects to Indigenous communities .
By Emilie Lauer
James Cook University has returned sacred Indigenous artefacts back to their communities as part of a new , long-term repatriation project .
In October , the university returned a boomerang , a stone axe-head , photographic slides and a group of bark paintings to representatives of the Djabugay community and the Djungan community in Queensland .
The items were held in the university ’ s Material Culture Collection , which began in the ‘ 70s , and were used for teaching and research until the early 2000 ’ s .
“ It ’ s important for objects to go back to the traditional owner groups , to the source communities - That ’ s part of our duty of care and our moral duty , to return objects ,” JCU p anthropology professor Rosita Henry told Campus Review .
Most of the items present in the collection were purchased by JCU or donated and no human remains were collected .
The current repatriation follows a 2004 “ de-accession ” where the more than 2000 artefacts in the collection were transferred to Queensland Museum .
“ Not all of it was accepted by the Queensland Museum and for many years we ’ ve had more or less the remnants of the original collection that we had ,” Henry said .
“ While we have been looking after the remnants of the collection ever since , we decided that it ’ s important for objects to go back to the traditional owner groups .”
For the past two years , Henry and her team have been searching for the rightful owners of the objects , which she said has been a ‘ long and tedious ’ process .
“ Sometimes we have documents regarding where the particular object might have originated or who the maker was , but at times we don ’ t have much information and we need to track down what the traditional owner group or the source community might have been ,” Henry said . “ It is a very slow process .” After a long research , JCU returned a stone axe-head , a boomerang and six photographic slides to representatives of the Djabugay community .
The university also reached out to representatives of the Djungan community which accepted a group of bark paintings .
Two of these were painted by Jimmy Junkinburri Archer , who welcomed their return with his daughters , Lesley and Connie Archer .
The remaining paintings were also identified as the work of their uncle and brother George Narabullgun Archer .
According to Henry , the artefacts carry significant meaning to the Djungan community ’ s identities and heritage .
“ These are really important objects that connect to their history , they are living memories that connect people to land ,
They are living memories that connect people to land .
to place , to their country , to identity ,” Henry said .
“ With the bark paintings , one of the artists was still alive but hadn ’ t seen the paintings since the day he made them .
“ In that case , it connects the daughters to their father , and not only because he painted them but because it represents ancestral beings that go back in time to connect them to the dreaming .”
Currently , the university holds 61 secret or sacred objects associated with men ’ s business , and a collection of 24 sensitive photographs of women , which are judged to be women ’ s business .
“ Some objects are more sensitive because they are objects that were used for ritual purposes and that were normally excluded from the public eye .
“ We have to be more careful with these objects and we have to be cautious with the protocols we follow .
“ We always ask for advice from the community members themselves and from the elders of the community to know what is the best way to return these objects if they want it ,” Henry said .
In the coming months , Henry will continue to identify Indigenous objects at JCU to return them to their rightful owners . ■
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