Germany returns 3 historical artifacts to Kogui Indigenous community in Colombia

CALI, Colombia

Germany returned three historical artifacts to the Kogui Indigenous community in Colombia, officials said on Friday.

The artifacts were brought to Germany by archaeologist Konrad Theodor Preuss in the early 20th century.

During the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) held in the Cali province of Colombia, Germany returned the artifacts – a wooden staff, a bejuco rucksack, and a basket.

The items, taken by archaeologist Konrad Theodor Preuss in the early 20th century, were handed over in a ceremony attended by Germany’s Federal Environment Minister, Steffi Lemke.

According to a statement from Colombia’s Presidential Press Office, the artifacts, kept at Berlin’s Ethnological Museum, were returned at the request of the Colombian government.

In her speech at the ceremony, Alhena Caicedo Fernandez, director of Colombia’s Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH), welcomed the return of these artifacts and underscored Colombia's commitment to preserving its ethnic and cultural diversity.

The Kogui people are known to inhabit the mountainous Sierra Nevada region in northern Colombia.


*Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara