Join DTA’s bespoke Museum Restitution Course which returns in the Autumn of 2025.
The body parts of our ancestors lie incarcerated in Museums across Britain unbeknown to its citizens, let alone the actual African heritage communities from which they were violently removed. As such, this course facilitates the training of participants to become Ancestral Remains Ethical Rights Enablers. This not only provides sharing of the knowledge on the matter and the historical resonance of these subjects prior to their incarceration, but more importantly allows the community to speak and petition on behalf of the deceased to be liberated…
The cultural treasures and knowledge systems from Africa that were stolen displaced, disposed and dis-positioned especially in the case of Human remains, is a humanitarian issue. Therefore, it must be treated with the same universal justice owed to other nations. This ethical bridge must lend itself not only for the living, but also what is perceived as the dead, the tangible and intangible.
The Ancestral Remains Ethical Rights Enabler course was born out of a need to address this issue as one of many injustices and inhumane treatments that contribute to the dissolution of cultural identity for African heritage people in Britain and similarly impacted heritage groups. This not only provides sharing of the knowledge on the matter and the historical resonance of these subjects prior to their incarceration, but more importantly allows the community to speak and petition on behalf of the deceased to be liberated.
Recent graduates of the course have been part of a campaign of Restitution in the UK Parliament supporting the policy brief “Laying Our Ancestors to Rest” along with a delegation of other African-heritage groups. This featured members of our Community Archivist Outreach Team such as Esie Dadzie, Samantha Likonde, and Ima Ura. Learn more here.
Samantha Likonde
Ima Aura
Esie Dadzie
We will be working with trauma-informed archives and feature specialists in working with these archives from across Britain and the globe.
Guest Speakers
One of our guest speakers will be Mitchell Esajas, founder of the Black Archives, Amsterdam, who will be helping to lead one of the modules. a unique historical archive for inspiring conversations, activities and literature from Black and other perspectives that are often overlooked elsewhere. The Black Archives documents the history of black emancipation movements and individuals in the Netherlands.
We have had an array of guest speakers for this course, including Attorney Deadria Farmer-Paellmann (USA) who gave a lecture in January 2025, on her campaign for restitution of the Benin Bronzes.
