Historian and archivist Mike Jones of the eScholarship Research Centre of the University of Melbourne and ANU School of History, while not disputing the outcome of the workshop or Thomas' claim, has challenged the use of purely European sources and perspectives to provide the provenance Indigenous artefacts, saying that the shield has become a "cultural touchstone". Sarah Keenan, Leverhulme Fellow and senior lecturer at Birkbeck College Law School in London, said that Indigenous perspectives and methodologies were not used in the workshop, and a different conclusion may have been reached, or other knowledge gained about its significance, had such methods been applied. Thomas himself said that the fact that the shield is not the one represented in the story of the Gweagal Shield does not mean that it should not be repatriated, and its symbolism to all Indigenous Australians should not lose its power. The discussion around the shield is part of a growing movement for the decolonisation of museums in the UK and around the world.