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Category: Archaeology

UCLA Waystation Initiative to lead global project on restitution of cultural objects

The collaborative effort will build a framework for voluntary return and shared stewardship

Lyssa Stapleton, Waystation Initiative co-founder, will lead the NEH-funded project selected for its potential to use the humanities to address contemporary social challenges. 

UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology 

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The Waystation Initiative at UCLA, the first university-based effort in the U.S. dedicated to advancing ethical stewardship and return of international cultural objects, has been awarded a grant to address the complexities surrounding unprovenanced or unethically obtained cultural objects.

The two-year, $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will support efforts to advance two key solutions: shared stewardship and voluntary return. It is a broad discussion and effort to provide resources for institutions — mostly in the U.S. but not exclusively — and to help members of Indigenous communities find a voice within their own country, says Lyssa Stapleton, co-founder and director of the Waystation Initiative.

A centerpiece of this effort is “Creating Connections: Advancing Restitution and Stewardship of Cultural Heritage through Community Collaboration,” a two-day convening, which the Waystation Initiative will host this spring, coorganized with the Consensus Building Institute and the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Representatives from diverse communities across the globe will gather to foster dialogue and to develop shared strategies that promote forward-thinking solutions for cultural heritage in private and institutional collections. 

“This grant will support the crucial work of the Waystation in developing and exploring more equitable and collaborative approaches to the voluntary return and stewardship of cultural objects, advancing the cause of heritage justice,” Stapleton said. “Through international partnerships, our initiative fosters knowledge-sharing and collaboration among communities and nations, advocating for their rights to be the primary decision-makers concerning their cultural heritage.”

The grant will also support the launch of community consultations, which will engage diverse international communities to ensure that their needs and perspectives are central to new guidelines for shared stewardship and voluntary return. Community members hired as consultants will be drawn from the Waystation’s existing stakeholder network, participants in the 2025 “Creating Connections” convening and external contacts from global heritage initiatives.

Findings from these efforts will inform “The Best Practices for Voluntary Return and Shared Stewardship,” the grant’s final objective, which will be guided by the Waystation’s ongoing restitution efforts, community engagement, current research and case studies from other institutions involved in similar initiatives. 

The Waystation’s project was funded under the NEH’s United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture program and forms part of the broader American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future initiative. The grant is one of six awarded from 33 competitive applications. The Waystation’s proposal was selected for its potential to use the humanities to address contemporary social challenges, including strengthening democracy and advancing equity for all. 

Launched in April 2023, the Waystation Initiative also includes a graduate certificate program in cultural heritage research, stewardship and restitution — the first university program in the U.S. to offer formal training in the ethics and mechanics of returning cultural objects to nations and communities of origin.

Read the full release about the grant on UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology website.

The NEH award announcement can be found here.

This story was originally published in the UCLA Newsroom on February 10, 2025

Honoring 50 years of the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology

Jason De Leon
During his opening remarks, institute director Jason De León noted how the institute, even beyond his student years, continues to be a beacon for him and all those investing in the study of archaeology at UCLA.
Jason De Leon
During his opening remarks, institute director Jason De León noted how the institute, even beyond his student years, continues to be a beacon for him and all those investing in the study of archaeology at UCLA.

By Alvaro Castillo

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While many things may have changed over the first half century of the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, its key mission has not, according to attendees of the anniversary celebration in March.

Jason De León, institute director and professor of anthropology and Chicana/o and Central American studies, opened the program by quoting founding director and professor emeritus of history and Near Eastern languages and cultures Giorgio Buccellati’s initial 1974 report.

“‘We are creating here at UCLA something which is in line with the best archaeological truth and tradition, and yet is unique on the American scene…a comprehensive, interdisciplinary reconstruction of the human past,’” said De León. “‘We are truly an institute of archaeology writ large without parochial limitations of geography or methodology.’”

As attendees applauded the sentiment, De León added, “I think [these words] very, very much still ring true.”

Noting that appointing De León to the directorship last November was “one of the most important things that I’ve done in my role,” Abel Valenzuela, interim dean of the division of social sciences, shared his admiration for the institute.

“From a small group of passionate volunteers evolved an organized group of friends of archaeology who through their own sheer force of will and dedication began creating programs and events, one of the purest examples of the power of community, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary communities,” he said. “My thanks to everyone, past and present, who dedicated themselves to making the Cotsen Institute what it is today.”

Several of those luminaries spoke at the event, including Stephen Acabado, chair and professor of archaeology, as well as former institute directors and professors emeriti Buccellati, Merrick Posnansky (anthropology and history), Charles Stanish (anthropology) and Willeke Wendrich (Near Eastern languages and cultures). Another milestone was celebrated as well, when Thiago Puglieri, assistant professor of art history and conservation of cultural heritage, spoke on behalf of the UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage reaching its 20th anniversary.

Thanking the speakers as well as everyone who had played a role in the ongoing story of the institute, De León closed the event by affirming how vitally important the institute had been to his own life, from a “lost kid with a green mohawk hiding under a baseball cap” applying for a work study position in the late Professor Jeanne Arnold’s lab to now being in charge of it all.

“When I say that I’m humbled, that’s an understatement of epic proportions. … I come to this position with a commitment to honoring the legacy of the place while building on the work of my wonderful predecessors,” De León said. “Every day that I’m able to walk into that building with the one window, I am reminded how special that place is for our staff, for our students, for our faculty and all of our many visitors who get excited and inspired by this thing that we call archaeology and all that it has to offer.”

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