Indigenous Remains Repatriated By The Netherlands To Caribbean Island Of St. Eustatius - The World News Link

“Statia is small, but its history is vast,” said Sarah Matautu, director of the St. Eustatius Historical Foundation. “Having our ancestors returned acknowledges that our Indigenous past is not extinct—it is alive, and it deserves dignity.”

“Science cannot come at the expense of humanity,” Gumbs responded. “Our ancestors were not research subjects. They were people.” “Statia is small, but its history is vast,”

The remains were originally excavated from the Golden Rock and Smoke Alley archaeological sites on the island during the mid-20th century. They were subsequently transported to Leiden, Netherlands, where they remained for decades in the vaults of the National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden). For years, they were studied, cataloged, and displayed—often without the consent or knowledge of Statia’s living Indigenous descendants and local community. “Our ancestors were not research subjects

While the repatriation has been widely praised, some archaeologists have expressed concern about losing the scientific potential of the remains. However, local leaders stressed that ethical considerations and Indigenous sovereignty must take precedence. they can finally rest.”

April 17, 2026 Source: The World News

“Today, we are not just receiving bones. We are receiving our ancestors,” said Mikael “Micky” Gumbs, a cultural preservationist and a representative of the island’s Indigenous heritage advocacy group, Fundashon pa Nos Raís (Foundation for Our Roots). “They were taken during a time when Indigenous voices were silenced. Now, they can finally rest.”