Letter to the Prime Miniser of Australia

Dear Mr Howard

No doubt you are aware of the present legal challenge by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation (TAC) to the decision of the British Natural History Museum in relation to the Indigenous remains held by that Museum. Put simply, the TAC is concerned at the persistent activities of the Museum in desecration of the remains of our ancestors.

The Centre for Indigenous Cultural Policy shares the views of the TAC on this matter.

The Centre has been recently established to reflect the views of Indigenous Queenslanders that the repatriation of their ancestral remains and cultural artefacts is part of the continuum of concerns about the direction for Indigenous art and culture. The Centre sees that ownership and control of contemporary expressions of art and culture are also part of that continuum.

We believe that the actions of the British Natural History Museum are out of step with the spirit of the agreement reached between you and the Prime Minister of Great Britain on this matter that was signed in July 2000.

The Centre for Indigenous Cultural Policy is at present, with the support of the Queensland Government, consulting with a broad spectrum of stakeholders to identify their views on the proper means to handle ancestral and human remains. The clear view that is emerging from these consultations is certainly that this important material needs to be handled with care and dignity, and should be repatriated intact to the traditional owners of the material.

In short, we believe that on this issue the views of the Commonwealth Government and the Traditional Owners of Queensland are in line.

I would like to propose a joint approach to the Prime Minister of Great Britain on this matter. I have also written to the Premier of Queensland with a similar proposal. The outcome we would seek is that the matter be resolved in line with the spirit of the Agreement with the UK, and that repatriation of these remains proceeds forthwith, with no further desecration.

At this point, I plan to travel to the UK early next week with Michael Mansell of the TAC to attend the Hearing. You may like to consider how the interests of the Commonwealth Government in this matter, which is of great significance to indigenous Australians, should be represented at this Hearing.

I look forward to hearing your urgent response to this important concern.

Yours faithfully

Bob Weatherall
Chair
14 February 2007