Halealoha-ayau

Hawaiian delegation to bring home 58 iwi kūpuna from Germany and Austria

BREMEN, GERMANY (Feb. 7, 2022) – This week a delegation representing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) will repatriate a total of 58 iwi kūpuna (ancestral Hawaiian skeletal remains) from four institutions in Germany and one in Austria that were stolen over 100 years ago from Hawaiʻi. The repatriation of the iwi kūpuna is the culmination of many years of research, coordination and communications between OHA and European museum, anthropologic and academic institutions. These iwi kūpuna were collected from Kaua‘i, Molokaʻi, Maui and Hawai‘i Island during a time of colonial violence, and were horrendously dehumanized for study without the consent of their families. The return of the iwi…