智利官方向曾受到伤害的土著居民致歉

Chile's president has apologised to the descendants of a group of indigenous¹ people who were shipped to Europe in the late 19th Century and exhibited.

智利总统向19世纪晚期被运往欧洲展览的一批本土居民的后裔们致歉。

Chile's president said the government had been guilty of neglect

The remains² of five Kawesqar Indians, from the country's southernmost region, were honoured in a ceremony after being flown back to the country.

Taken in 1881, they were displayed as curiosities真品，古董 in European cities.

President Michelle Bachelet said the government had been guilty of "neglect in the face of面对 such abuses".

"As we near the bicentennial两百周年纪念的 of our independence, we have to confront both the brightest points and the darkest moments of our history," she said in Santiago.

She said the mistreatment of the indigenous本土的，土著的 people was due to racist³ attitudes towards "our indigenous forefathers⁴, whose human dignity was trampled蹂躏，践踏 upon".

The bones were discovered in the Swiss city of Zurich where they had been kept for more than a century.

The five, who died there - some of tuberculosis⁶肺结核 - were among a group of 11 tribespeople部落成员 captured by German explorers in 1881.

Six were allowed eventually to return to Chile and one died during the voyage home.

From Santiago, the remains of the five who died in Europe were flown to Punta Arenas⁷, in the far south of Chile.

They will be buried in a traditional indigenous ceremony at a remote island close to Tierra del Fuego.