Debate contribution: Decolonisation of Museum Collections and Repatriation of Artefacts

Debate contribution by Mr Stewart Dickson on 20 May 2025.

MLA

Mr Stewart Dickson

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

20 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Decolonisation of Museum Collections and Repatriation of Artefacts

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4963902

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I will represent my party colleague Sian Mulholland, who has another engagement. She is a member of the Communities Committee. We welcome the motion. On behalf of the Alliance Party, I offer support not just for the motion but for the principles that underpin it: justice, openness and cultural respect. National Museums Northern Ireland's commitment to ethical collections development and active decolonisation of their collections is commendable. Through research, partnership and engagement with communities, National Museums Northern Ireland has shown that decolonisation is not simply about the past but about shaping a more inclusive, accountable and truthful future. Reference has been made to the Inclusive Global Histories exhibition that was launched at the Ulster Museum in 2022. That is a powerful example of ambition in action. It invites and challenges us to confront the way in which artefacts were acquired, the stories that we have chosen to tell and the voices that have been excluded from those narratives. It does so not through shame or erasure but through inclusion, dialogue and learning. That is precisely the approach that we in the Alliance Party support: not rewriting history but deepening it; not erasing the past but confronting it honestly and building trust for a shared future. National Museums Northern Ireland has already taken practical action. The return of ancestral remains to Hawaii is a deeply respectful step that reflects not only international best practice but basic human dignity. It recognises that culture is not a trophy and that heritage is not a possession but a living part of identity. In our context, Britishness and Irishness are deeply felt and not easily mapped on to the cultural binaries that are seen elsewhere. National Museums Northern Ireland has rightly recognised that any decolonisation work must reflect our shared and interwoven histories and must be careful not to undermine the core principle of decolonisation, which is to address racism and exclusionary practices while respecting identities. Its curatorial commitment to dialogue, especially with those for whom collections are of special significance, reflects a model from which, as a hospitable, inclusive and respectful approach that encourages reflection without imposition, we can all learn, especially here in the Assembly at times. Those efforts stand in contrast to the more rigid approaches that treat artefacts largely as objects of legal preservation rather than as living cultural expressions with emotional and ethical significance. Recognising harm, returning what was taken without consent and restoring dignity is not some sort of moral absolutism but common decency. The past is complex, but complexity cannot be a shield for inaction or delay. We must resist simplistic binaries, because it is not the case that we should return everything or return nothing. Rather, it is about evidence-led, case-by-case decisions that are grounded in provenance, research, legal clarity, meaningful community engagement and public transparency. That is why the Alliance Party fully supports that approach, which is rooted in principle and driven by evidence and accountability. Critically, Northern Ireland is well placed to lead on that. Unlike institutions in the rest of the United Kingdom that are governed by the British Museum Act 1963, National Museums Northern Ireland is not barred by statute from making ethical returns. We have greater flexibility, and we should use it wisely and courageously. National Museums Northern Ireland's internal guidance, 'Supporting Decolonisation in Northern Ireland', encourages museums to:

"Be positive and do not be afraid",

and we wholeheartedly support that. That ambition, however, must be met with support. That is why the motion calls for ministerial leadership. We need the Department for Communities to fund provenance research and digitisation, to support partnerships with local communities and international source communities and to provide clear and consistent guidance to help museums navigate claims with confidence and care. Let me be clear: it is not just a matter of good practice but one of international responsibility. Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is explicit:

"States shall seek to enable the access and/or repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains in their possession through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned."

That gives clear moral and international backing for the type of work that is being undertaken here. We also need to broaden that work beyond museums. We need to embed it in our schools and public institutions and in our cultural policy so that all communities in Northern Ireland can see themselves reflected in the stories that we tell. It is not just about artefacts —

— but about apologies and inclusion.

760 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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