Dutch museum to return sacred items stolen from Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo Tribe

YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO, Texas (KVIA) -- The Netherlands is returning sacred Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo Tribe artifacts. The items, currently housed at the Nationaal Museum Van Wereldculturen, will make their way back to El Paso after they were taken by Dutch anthropologist Herman F.C. Ten Kate in December 1882.

“Mr. Ten Kate used very dubious means to take our treasures back to the Netherlands, so that they could be placed in museums, where they remain to this day," said Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Governor Michael Silvas. "Since 1882, we have prayed for their return and petitioned the Dutch for their return. Our antiquities are part of our every-day spiritual life, and they were taken away from us to hang in a museum. Thankfully, our prayers have been answered, and these religious icons will, once again, be returned to our people so that we can only strengthen and continue to practice our culture and faith.”

Lawmakers from Texas and New Mexico have been working with the Department of State and the Dutch Government to return the items.

The items include the Sacred Pohwith Winter Drum, described as perhaps the Pueblo's most important spiritual icon, which will now be reunited with its brother, the Summer Drum. Once returned, the Pueblo will use the Winter Drum in its Winter rituals and traditions for the first time since 1882.

The Pueblo have tried to recover the Winter Drum and other important items numerous times since 1967. As recently as 2017, the Dutch declined the Pueblo's request. Recently, however, the government publicly displayed an interest in repatriating items to indigenous groups, opening a window for the return of the Pueblo's sacred items.

"The Pohwith Winter Drum and its Brother Summer Drum are living entities to be birthed, fed, blessed, cared for, and prayed for," the Pueblo stated in a news release Friday. "The drums are more than 350 years old and are hewn from the same tree from a forest near the Pueblo’s ancestral home in Isleta, New Mexico. They will soon be reunited for the first time since 1882, along with the return of a shield, another smaller drum and drum stick, moccasins, and rattles."

The repatriation is expected to be complete this year.