Laura Bootham, Te Manu Korihi-Laura.Bootham@radionz.co.nz. A moving ceremony at Te Papa was held today to welcome home ancestral remains of tangata whenua to Aotearoa. The repatriation to the national museum in Wellington is the largest of its kind in New Zealand's history.he Māori leader or Kaihautū at Te Papa, Arapata Hakiwai, says overseas museums are starting to support the repatriation of indigenous people's remains and Te Papa is negotiating to have more ancestral remains repatriated. The challenge now is to ensure that these remains have a final resting place, he says.