UK University Returns Paiwan Warriors’ Skulls

via AFP/Straits Times, 04 Nov 2023: The University of Edinburgh has returned the skulls of four Paiwan warriors to Taiwan, marking the first international repatriation of indigenous ancestral remains for the island. This act, addressing past injustices, is celebrated as a significant step towards transitional justice for the Paiwan community, with the remains to be housed at the National Museum of Prehistory until a final resting place is determined.

The remains belonged to four warriors from Mudan township, which is predominantly populated by the Paiwan people, the second-largest indigenous group in Taiwan, according to the university.

The skulls were taken to Japan by a US Navy officer who had accompanied the Japanese as a military adviser in the 1874 conflict, and they were eventually given to University of Edinburgh principal William Turner in 1907.

The repatriation request was made by Taiwan’s Council of Indigenous Peoples in November 2021 and granted the following July.

Source: UK university returns tribal warrior skulls to Taiwan | The Straits Times