Repatriation of museum objects from national collections to local communities in Norway

Abstract

In this article, I examine ongoing debates in Norway on repatriation of cultural heritage in the form of antiquities. The focus is however not on international debates regarding colonial looting or indigenous’ rights to manage their own heritage as is usually the case within this topic, but rather on local claims for the return of cultural treasures from national museums. In cases such as those examined here, local institutions (museums and churches) have requested central museums to return cultural antiquities to the local community claiming that this is where they originally were in use and therefore belong. In this article I take a closer look at the arguments given by the local and the central stakeholders in heritage management. The arguments and practice reveal ideologies and ethical principles at work within the sector, but also show how these are constantly shifting. Further on, I discuss this practice in relation to Norwegian heritage politics.