British Museum facing online calls to return Easter Island statue

Recent online campaigns have been urging the British Museum to return a famous Easter Island statue to its homeland. The statue, known as Hoa Hakananai’a, has been housed in the museum since it was taken from the island in 1869 by British sailors.

Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is a remote island in the Pacific Ocean that is famous for its giant stone statues, known as Moai. The Moai are considered to be sacred by the Rapa Nui people, and many believe that Hoa Hakananai’a should be returned to the island as a sign of respect for the culture and heritage of the indigenous people.

The British Museum has faced criticism in the past for holding onto cultural artifacts that were taken from their countries of origin during the colonial era. Calls for repatriation of these items have been growing in recent years, with many arguing that museums should not be hoarding stolen treasures.

While the British Museum has not yet responded to the online campaign to return Hoa Hakananai’a, the issue has sparked a wider conversation about the ethics of keeping cultural artifacts in museums without the consent of the communities from which they were taken.