Oxford University museum to return human remains to India's Naga community

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Oxford University's Pitt Rivers Museum agreed to repatriate the ancestral remains of 39 Naga people to their community in northeast India following negotiations that began after a formal claim was filed in February 2026. The remains were originally collected by British colonial administrators, including John Henry Hutton and James Philip Mills, between 1910 and 1940, often during punitive military expeditions. The Forum for Naga Reconciliation and other Naga organizations welcomed the decision, stating that the repatriation signifies the return of memory to its rightful place.

Consequences

The museum and the Naga community are currently coordinating a handover ceremony to facilitate the return of the ancestors to their homeland. This repatriation addresses a segment of the museum's extensive Naga collection, which still contains 178 additional items that may contain human hair.

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