Norway's Kon-Tiki Museum Returns Artifacts and Remains to Easter Island

The museum collaborates with Chile and Rapa Nui authorities to repatriate cultural items taken by explorer Thor Heyerdahl in 1947.

A nine-person delegation from Easter Island traveled to Oslo to collect the artifacts and remains, participating in a ritual ceremony at the museum.
The returned items include human remains known as Ivi Tepuna and sculpted stones, which were originally taken during Heyerdahl's expedition.
This marks the third repatriation of items by the museum, following previous returns in 1986 and 2006.
The return process was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite an agreement being signed in 2019 in Santiago, Chile.
Thor Heyerdahl's granddaughter, Liv Heyerdahl, emphasized the importance of involving the Rapa Nui people, who are the rightful owners of these cultural artifacts.