Lisbon hosts, from May 13 to 15, 2026, the international conference Histories of Anthropology and Restitutions,a gathering that examines—through the lens of disciplinary history—a topic that has become unavoidable in the fields of heritage and the humanities: restitution. Far from being limited to the return of objects to their places of origin, the conference proposes to think of restitution as a set of processes that also involves knowledge, words, sounds, and images embedded in ethnographic and anthropological collections and archives—and that may produce unforeseen effects and outcomes, not always reducible to the material act of returning. The international debate on restitution has a longer history than recent discussions might suggest. Today, protocols and political, scientific, and ethical positions—sometimes ambivalent—are multiplying within a contested terminological field, ranging from repatriation to reparation, from return to healing. This landscape highlights how different histories and regimes of value—sometimes different ways of understanding the world—shape complex negotiations among institutions, collectives, and individuals.

The program features the participation of Indigenous voices from Brazil with a decisive role in current debates on memory and restitution. Indigenous researcher and curator Tonico Benites (Guarani Kaiowá) delivers the opening keynote. At the closing session, artist, researcher, and activist Glicéria Tupinambá (Tupinambá) presents a performative intervention at the National Museum of Ethnology, centered on the Tupinambá mantle and ancestral technologies, bringing together artistic creation, restitution, and territory. With panels organized along three thematic lines—“Reconstitutions and Provenance,” “Archives in the Field,” and “From the Museum Object to the Restituted Subject”—the conference also features João Pacheco de Oliveira (Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro) in connection with the launch of his recent book O Fogo avassalador e a nova semeadura (The Overwhelming Fire and the New Sowing. On Museums, Anthropologies, and Indigenous Protagonism, Mórula Editorial, Rio de Janeiro, 2nd edition, 2026). The Portuguese Film Archive (Cinemateca Portuguesa) joins the event with two sessions dedicated to the tentative restitution of Margot Dias’s (1908-2001) films to the Makonde of Mozambique, expanding the discussion to moving images and the historical responsibilities of film archives.

This conference, marking the conclusion of the CNRS-sponsored International Research Network dedicated to the Transatlantic History of Latin American Anthropologies, brings together more than 15 institutions from six countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, France, and Portugal). Held at NOVA University and the National Museum of Ethnology, this in-person event uses Portuguese and Spanish as its working languages.

Organizing committee: João Leal (CRIA/IN2PAST); Christine Laurière (CNRS/HÉRITAGES; IRL2034 – Mondes en transition); Frederico Delgado Rosa (CRIA/IN2PAST; IRL2034 – Mondes en transition); Sónia Vespeira de Almeida (CRIA/IN2PAST); Rodrigo Lacerda (CRIA/IN2PAST).

Histórias da Antropologia e Restituições / download the program (in Portuguese) here.