Netherlands returns Indigenous remains to St. Eustatius

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The Netherlands returned the remains of nine indigenous people who were unearthed by archaeologists on the small Dutch-Caribbean island of St. Eustatius over 30 years ago, reported ABC News.

The initial inhabitants of St. Eustatius, known as Statia to locals, are believed to be Caribs, originating in the Amazon basin; several pre-Colombian sites were found on the island as well. The Dutch settlement took place, followed by British and French rule. The island is currently a special municipality of the Netherlands. 

Repatriation was requested by the island's culture department, which took nearly a year to complete. The island is making an effort to retrieve its stolen artifacts and human remains uncovered during Dutch colonial rule. The artifacts are in the process of being recovered by worldwide institutional collections. 

Some of the returned artifacts date back to the fifth century; some of which are bone fragments, including boxes containing remnants of ceramic and shell food, according to the government press release on Monday. 

These artifacts were uncovered during the excavation at the capital Oranjestad airport between the years 1984 and 1989.

Two professors from Leiden University in the Netherlands flew the remains back. The artifacts are expected to be retrieved in the next few months. 

Once retrieved, the remains are to be reburied with the aid of a local cultural heritage committee in collaboration with local residents.

While carrying out an expansion project in 2021 at the same airport, dozens of skeletons were discovered, which were believed to be part of a dormer sugar plantation turned 18th-century burial ground.

The government aims to recover artifacts at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Read next: Cambodia retrieves UK-looted Angkor jewelry, urges more repatriations