Massachusetts Museum Will Return Objects to Hawaii

VINEYARD HAVEN, MASSACHUSETTS—The Vineyard Gazette reports that objects held at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum will be returned to Hui Iwi Kuamo’o, a repatriation organization in Hawaii. The objects include a canoe and a poi pounder donated to the museum by a collector in 1941, and a grass skirt and tapa cloth acquired by a whaler who brought them to Martha’s Vineyard around 1870. These items were eventually donated to the museum in 1956. The museum listed the items for potential repatriation after the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was passed in 1990. Hui Iwi Kuamo’o placed a request for the objects last year, after changes to NAGPRA simplified the return process. “From the museum’s perspective, there’s no question that we agree with them that these things should go back to Hawaii,” said museum director Heather Seger. The canoe has been shown at the museum, she added, but to her knowledge, the grass skirt, tapa cloth, and poi pounder have never been displayed. To read more about Indigenous Hawaiian history, go to "Letter from Hawaii: Inside Kauai's Past."