The French parliament has approved the return of more than a dozen toi moko, or preserved Maori heads, to New Zealand.
Just eight members of the National Assembly in Paris voted against the plan to remove the warrior heads from the permanent collections of several museums.
The restitution became a national issue in France when the Rouen town council voted in 2007 to give back a head kept in its Natural History Museum since 1875.
That decision was annulled, with France's Culture Ministry saying at the time it could not be made at the local level.
However a new law was put forward by the French government and won cross-party support. The law will apply to more than a dozen Maori heads kept in French museums.
Te Papa acting chief executive Michelle Hippolite told Morning Report the attitude of overseas' museums has changed over time.
Michelle Hippolite says when the heads arrive back to New Zealand the museum will research which iwi they originally came from and send them on for burial.
