Government decides that KI must return remains
The government has decided that KI must return the remains of Christina Catharina Larsdotter to Malå Sami Association and Malå Sameby. A repatriation request was submitted to the government in January by KI’s former president Ole Petter Ottersen.
Assumed destroyed in a fire, the remains of Christina Catharina Larsdotter were recovered on an inventory of KI’s anatomical collection in the spring of 2022. KI then contacted the Malå Sami Association and Malå Sameby, who asked for the remains to be returned for burial in Malå cemetery. The government’s decision means that the repatriation can now go ahead.
“The government’s decision is a very welcome one for us at KI and for Malå Sami Association and Malå Sameby, which have been working together to make it happen,” says Professor Östman Wernerson. “Repatriations are an important part of KI’s ongoing efforts to live up to our historical responsibility.”
Press release Swedish Government Office
Karolinska institutet to return human remains to Malå Sameförening and Malå Sameby (in Swedish)