The return of Ahayuda

Many Indian peoples in recent times have demanded that museums return their sacred objects to ensure the survival of traditions. The New Mexico Zuñis celebrated the success of their campaign to recover the wooden images of Ahayuda, the twin gods of war, which had been transferred to the Smithsonian Institution around 1880. On the winter solstice, every two years, sacred men place the images in the shrines that dominate the Zunji people and perform a ritual to ask for the protection of the gods.

In 1978, the Zuni requested the restitution of the efigies. Despite long talks with the Smithsonian Institution, the museum eventually ceded due to the growing demand for Indian sacred objects across the country. The Zuñis have received more photos of Ahayuda from other museums.These acts are sacred to Native Americans. Many traditionalist Indians believe that the deceased still exist, albeit in a different world, and that the transfer of their remains constitutes an affront to the dignity of the ancestors and a threat to the delicate harmony of nature. For decades, indigenous peoples struggled to recover and bury these remains. Finally, in 1990, Congress passed the Native American Tomb Protection and Repatriation Act, which obliges all official agencies to return human remains, funeral objects and sacred objects to the peoples from which they were taken, as well as to consult the tribes directly before excavating in Indian sites.

The campaign to recover the lands that the Indians lost in wars and treaties has not been so successful. The legal battle began in 1946 when the U.S. Congress established the Indian Claims Commission, which established compensation for illegally seized land, equivalent to the value of the land when it was usurped and more interest. This helped peoples whose claims were met to generate significant incomes. For example, the Passamaquoddy of Maine received sufficient funds to implement educational, industrial development and housing programmes.