The event, titled "Beyond Restitution: Indigenous Practices, Museums, and Heritage," aimed to connect artists and researchers with European collections to reflect on ways to amend the violent separation that characterized European museology.
Professor Francisco Huichaqueo, filmmaker, artist, and faculty member of our Department of Visual Arts, played a prominent role in the conference "Beyond Restitution: Indigenous Practices, Museums, and Heritage," organized by researchers Dr. Susanne Leeb and Dr. Sebastián Eduardo Dávila. This event, held on February 7 and 8 at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, Germany, brought together Indigenous representatives and museology specialists to address the challenges of heritage restitution and the decolonization of knowledge.
Professor Huichaqueo traveled to Germany on February 2 with a Mapuche delegation from the Lof Bollilco community in Ercilla, consisting of eight members (five adults and three children), with the purpose of exploring the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, which houses a significant collection of Mapuche archaeological heritage.
The delegation accompanying Professor Huichaqueo included: Alberto Carilao, Leticia Rucal Railao, Brayhan Carilao Quiduleo, Belén Carilao Quiduleo, Héctor Carilao Rucal, Rayen Carilao Rucal, and Catalina Alvarado Cañuta. Additionally, the delegation was joined by Paula Honorato, curator of the National Museum of Fine Arts, to strengthen the connection between the Fine Arts Museum and the Mapuche world.
The conference also welcomed delegations from the Tupinambá people of Brazil and the Kággaba people of Colombia. Their presence at the conference and participation in this journey had a strong advocacy component, framed within Indigenous demands for the return of objects taken in the context of 19th-century colonialism.
During the event, it was emphasized that restitution is not limited to the physical return of objects but entails a profound transformation in the relationship between museums and Indigenous communities. Discussions focused on consultation in decision-making, distancing from Western hierarchies in museology, and the need for collaboration with Indigenous curators and researchers. In this context, Huichaqueo contributed his artistic and activist perspective, promoting an approach that links art and memory as fundamental elements of Mapuche identity.
As part of the program, the delegation visited the Humboldt Forum, home to one of the world's largest archaeological collections, and participated in a guided tour of the Mapuche collections at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, led by curator Stefanie Schien. In these spaces, the Mapuche community conducted small ceremonial prayers as a way of connecting with their ancestors and seeking spiritual guidance in the restitution process.
The experience generated deep emotions and reflections, highlighting the importance of art as a tool for memory and resistance. The delegation reaffirmed the demand for restitution as a measure of historical reparation and emphasized the ethical responsibility of museums and states in expediting these processes. Through his presence and testimony, Huichaqueo reinforced the need to recognize Indigenous epistemologies in museum spaces and to advance the recovery of the fragmented history of Indigenous peoples.
In addition to the conference activities, Professor Huichaqueo also participated in the seminar "Indigenous Artists and Museum Encounters," led by Dr. Sebastián Eduardo Dávila. The seminar took place both in the storage areas of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin and later in the classroom.
Conference Organizers:
Fernanda Pitta (Professor of the Research Division in Art, Theory, and Criticism at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo and Principal Investigator in the research project "Decay Without Mourning: Future Thinking Heritage Practices") and Bruno Moreschi (LIAS Fellow and Researcher in the research project "Decay Without Mourning: Future Thinking Heritage Practices"), Lynn Rother (Professor of Provenance Studies at Leuphana University Lüneburg), Sebastián Eduardo and Laura Felicitas Sabel (Research Assistants at Leuphana University Lüneburg), and Susanne Leeb (Professor of Contemporary Art at Leuphana University Lüneburg and Co-director of LIAS).