In what must be one of the largest acts of restitution to native Americans (at least in terms of quantity of artefacts), the Smithsonian Institution is to return over two hundred artefacts to the Yurok tribe in northern California. The fact that such major repatriations of artefacts are possible proves that returning some artefacts does not have to threaten the future of museums, despite what many institutions would currently like the public to believe.

From:
National Public Radio

Yurok Tribe Celebrates Reclaiming Sacred Artifacts
by NPR Staff
August 13, 2010

The Smithsonian Institution has returned more than 200 sacred artifacts to the Yurok Indian tribe in Northern California in one of the largest repatriations of Native American artifacts in U.S. history.

The Yurok received necklaces, headdresses and other ceremonial regalia that had been in the museum’s collection for nearly 100 years.
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