Norwegian Museum to Return Thousands of Easter Island Artifacts

As reported by The Guardian, Thor Heyerdahl Jr., the son of Thor Heyerdahl, who accompanied him on one of his expeditions to the Chilean island in the 1950s, attended the ceremony and said that it was always his dad’s goal to return the items after they had been analyzed.

Thor Heyerdahl’s expeditions to Easter Island were meant to test the theory that the Polynesian islands were settled by South American people rather than migrants from Asia.

Consuelo Valdes, Chile’s Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage, issued a statement saying, “As a ministry, we have the mission to respond to the just demand of the Rapa Nui people to recover their cultural heritage.”

The Kon-Tiki Museum is not the only institution facing requests for the repatriation of artifacts from other nations. For 150 years, the British Museum in London has been in possession of one of Easter Island’s most spiritually significant statues, and now the small Chilean island is imploring the British government for its return.

H/T: Lonely Planet