From the Congo free state to a biological anthropology lab in Brussels to the university of Lubumbashi: A history of the translocation of fourteen ancestral remains

This article explores the collaboration between members of two universities—one Belgian and one Congolese—that culminated in an agreement for the restitution of a colonial collection of ancestral remains. It recounts the various stages leading up to and following the agreement within both institutions. We, members of the two universities involved in the process, examine the process behind this decision, its impact on raising awareness of the Belgian university’s colonial past, and its influence on the partnership between the two universities. Additionally, we discuss the future possibilities that may arise from the physical repatriation of these ancestral remains.