The transfer agreement was signed in February 2023 by Government Commissioner Alida Francis, witnessed by island commissioners, cultural leaders, and members of the St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research (SECAR). The remains were then flown to the island on a commercial airline, escorted by two professors from Leiden University's Faculty of Archaeology. "We have been wanting to send the artefacts and remains back for a while now," said Jason Laffoon, Head of the Department of Archaeological Sciences at Leiden University. "When the formal request was sent to us via the Dutch Heritage Agency (RCE), we happily agreed to send it all back".
The remains originated from an excavation carried out between 1984 and 1989 at the site of St. Eustatius’ F.D. Roosevelt Airport under the direction of Leiden archaeologist Aad Versteeg. The dig was conducted on behalf of the Archaeological Centre of Leiden State University and the Archaeological‑Anthropological Institute of the Netherlands Antilles on Curaçao. At the time, it was the largest pre‑Columbian excavation in the Lesser Antilles, covering roughly 2,800 square metres of the island’s central plain. Among the discoveries were the remains of a late‑Saladoid village, including the footings of a large communal dwelling known as a maloca , along with pottery, shell tools and animal bones. The transfer agreement was signed in February 2023
The Netherlands to the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius . "We have been wanting to send the artefacts
“They are not going into a glass case,” explained Clyde van Putten, commissioner of culture for St. Eustatius. “They are going into the earth. That is the final repatriation. From dust to dust, but now in the right dust—the dust of their homeland.” Eustatius’ F
More details on the 2021 airport excavation discoveries on St. Eustatius.
The Dutch government has been developing policies for the restitution of colonial objects. In 2021, recommendations were made for a separate policy on ancestral remains. The repatriation to Statia aligns with this new approach, with the Dutch government and academic institutions, like Leiden University, showing a willingness to engage with requests from their former colonial territories. This case, as well as requests from other nations like Indonesia, signals a broader acknowledgment in the Netherlands that the continued possession of such heritage is becoming "increasingly uncomfortable".
The repatriation is part of a broader, though often slow-moving, effort by the Netherlands to address its colonial legacy. In recent years, the Dutch government has returned artifacts looted from Indonesia and Sri Lanka, as well as remains from Suriname. However, this is the first repatriation to the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Eustatius, setting a potential precedent for neighboring islands like Saba and Bonaire.