Skip to Content

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History returns Indigenous Peruvian remains to Consulate General of Peru

Blake DeVine/KEYT

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has coordinated the return of the remains of two ancestral Indigenous Peruvians to the Consulate General of Peru in Los Angeles.

The remains were excavated from the Ancón Necropolis in northern Lima Province, Peru in 1877 by Léon de Cessac, who donated them to Santa Barbara State College in 1878. The remains were then donated to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) in 1925.

The Peruvian Ministry of Culture concluded the remains qualified as part of Peru's National Cultural Heritage and will officially be transferred into the custody of the Republic of Peru on Jun. 6 of this year.

This transfer was made in solidarity with the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States government and the government of the Republic of Peru first signed in June of 1997 and updated in May of 2022.

“At the Museum we are committed to ensuring that Indigenous cultures and communities have the ability to regain custody of their ancestral remains and funerary objects,” said SBMNH President & CEO Luke Swetland. “We have been honored to care for these remains for many years and are grateful that we can transfer custody to the Consulate General of Peru in Los Angeles.”

For more information about the SBMNH's repatriation efforts, visit their webpage on the topic here.

Article Topic Follows: Santa Barbara - South County
anthropological research
KEYT
memorandum of understanding
Ministry of Culture for the Republic of Peru
national cultural heritage
Peru
Santa Barbara
santa barbara museum of natural history

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Andrew Gillies

Andrew is a Digital Content Producer and Assignment Desk Assistant for News Channel 3-12. For more about Andrew, click here.

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

News Channel 3-12 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content