The Netherlands has returned seven objects to a Native American tribe from Texas, including a sacred winter drum – a religious object purloined 142 years ago and returned 60 years after their first request.

At a handover ceremony in the Wereldmuseum Leiden on Thursday morning, seven representatives of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe accepted the objects improperly obtained by a Dutch traveller and collector in 1882.

They included the Pohwith winter drum – referred to by the colloquial name of “Juanchiro Pusan” by some of the tribe – and a 350-year-old instrument used in prayer, daily life and ceremonial dances.

Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You, chair of the colonial collections committee, said that although the area was not a Dutch colony at the time, it recommended the return of the symbolically important objects. Collector Herman F.C. Ten Kate jr “thought nothing of using bribery and coercion,” she said, adding the seller was not authorised to give them away, the community protested and he regretted the transaction.

“Each of the restituted objects has a history that gives them such immense symbolic value for the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo,” she said in a short speech.

“These objects also tell a part of our Dutch history, of the Netherlands as a coloniser and a collecting country, and of the injustice that was inflicted [as] they belong to communities of people who were oppressed and who lost these cultural objects involuntarily…These items are living objects in need of the care and attention that only the Pueblo can provide.”

The drum – cut from the same wood from New Mexico as a summer drum the tribe still has – was covered by a blanket rather than being on display. However David Granillo, a traditional captain from the tribe, said that it was no longer silent. “Yesterday, we got to have a little ceremony,” he told Dutch News. “He sounded well, considering he has been gone so long.”

Other objects included a fragment of a headdress, shield, rattles and moccasins as well as a smaller drum and drumstick and – as a gesture of friendship – the tribe gave Dutch museum representatives gifts of pottery, traditional blankets and a painting.

Dignity

Christianne Mattijssen, director for the culture ministry, said that the tribe’s request for restitution, backed by the United States government, has now been honoured. “The Dutch government acknowledges that taking objects against the will of local people during the colonial period was an historical injustice,” she said. “The Dutch government is committed to redress it…We are not just witnessing the return of physical objects: we are witnessing the restoration of cultural and spiritual dignity.”

Dr Wayne Modest, director of content at the Wereldmuseum, said that restitution is not about feeling shame for the past but about taking responsibility for what happens next. “We are part of a moment that confronts and looks into the eye of the past and tries to fashion a different kind of future,” he said.

Governor E. Michael Silvas of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe said that the 5,500 members of the group dated back to a displaced pueblo formed in 1682 by the Chihuahua people.

“Today marks a day I never thought would come,” he said. “The drum is one of the sacred items in our culture and faith. For over 140 years, we have been unable to fully celebrate our winter dances. For over 140 years, our summer drum has been without his brother…You are a model for other nations to follow.”