Brits pass Tissue Act

The British Museum and eight other leading British institutions plan to return human remains to indigenous communities abroad, according to a new British law.

A section of the Human Tissue Act, announced Wednesday by the British government, allows museums to return remains “which are reasonably believed to be under 1,000 years in age.”

Australian Aborigines have appealed to the British and Australian governments for more than 20 years to help them bring the remains of their ancestors home. Indigenous groups in North America and New Zealand have made similar appeals.