This resource aims to open up global networks, share information, and enable international repatriation. It aims to provide an overview for Indigenous Nations to better understand the political and legal landscape in European countries before they begin their international repatriation efforts, and as a resource for European museums to compare different approaches and learn from one another.

This ever-growing resource strives to include key information about the repatriation process, or lack thereof, in European museums at present. Often this information may be difficult to find or understand – either because it is not publicly available or translated into English, for example. Additionally, some museums that are open to repatriation often feel challenged in being able to connect with Indigenous Nations regarding their ancestors and belongings – which also impacts the opportunity for returns to happen.

This resource attempts to track which countries are open to repatriation, where it is important to strike now (due to funding, national priorities, or new laws), where it might be useful to build relationships ahead of upcoming changes, and which countries are not yet ready to repatriate. I have also done my best to include searchable online databases of collections that are held in European museums that are open to claims.

I hope it helps ancestors and belongings to return home, providing a starting point for those looking to pursue international repatriation to understand the national laws, policies, cultural nuances, and histories that shape European approaches’ to this work.

I also hope that it supports my European colleagues to share and collaborate – opening up new networks to support each other to undertake more of this work, something which was highlighted by those who contributed to this resource.

With thanks to my European colleagues who supported me to gather this information, and a big thank you to Jackie Swift and the team at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, where I completed the fellowship that inspired this resource.