A Canadian art specialist is questioning the Vatican’s official narrative regarding the acquisition of numerous Indigenous artifacts from various countries, including Canada. In the 1920s, Pope Pius XI requested Catholic missions worldwide to contribute artifacts, including Indigenous cultural items, for a 1925 Vatican Mission Exposition. Gloria Bell, an art history assistant professor at McGill University, revealed that Catholic missions sent around 100,000 artifacts to the Vatican, which are now part of the Vatican’s permanent collection. These items include a human face mask from Haida Gwaii, a rare kayak from Inuvialuit, beaded skin moccasins, etchings on birch bark, and a dog sled model made of walrus ivory and sealskin.
Bell’s research challenges the Vatican’s claim that the artifacts were gifts, suggesting a contested history of Indigenous individuals possibly coerced to create these items, with some cultural belongings potentially stolen from communities. She highlighted instances of cultural objects being seized during the potlatch ban from 1885 to 1951 and mentioned evidence of residential school students creating souvenirs for the 1925 Vatican exhibit.
Calls for repatriation of these artifacts have been made, with Duane Smith from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation seeking the return of a rare kayak from the Vatican, one of only five of its kind globally. Smith hopes for collaboration between the church, government, and Indigenous communities for repatriation efforts.
Bell advocates for consulting Indigenous communities on the ethical display of cultural items, returning belongings, and digitizing Vatican records for community access. Her research sheds light on the exclusion of Indigenous voices in the 1925 exhibit, emphasizing the need to address colonial narratives and terminologies used by the Vatican. Bell’s forthcoming book delves into this historical context and aims to raise awareness among Indigenous communities about this overlooked history.
