This event is part of a global "Decolonization of Museums" movement.

In late 2023, the Netherlands completed the repatriation of 1,000-year-old Indigenous human remains to the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, marking a significant step in reclaiming local cultural heritage from Leiden University. This final transfer, along with earlier returns in March 2023, concluded the restitution of the Versteeg collection, which included remains of individuals excavated during the 1980s. Read more at Dominica News Online

The Netherlands has completed the repatriation of ancestral remains and artifacts from the 1000-year-old Versteeg Collection back to Sint Eustatius, marking a significant step in restorative justice. The two-phase return, involving remains from Leiden University and over 40 boxes of artifacts, concludes a process that began in March 2023. Read more about this repatriation effort in The Art Newspaper

In March 2023, the Netherlands returned the remains of nine Indigenous people to St. Eustatius, 30 years after they were excavated at the F.D. Roosevelt Airport. This repatriation, part of a broader effort to address colonial-era history, marks a significant step in reclaiming the Caribbean island's pre-colonial heritage. Read more on this story at Fox News.

The return of the remains was not an overnight decision but the result of changing attitudes toward colonial collections.

In a significant act of historical reconciliation, the government of the Netherlands officially returned the skeletal remains of indigenous ancestors to the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius (commonly known as Statia).