Gilbert Whiteduck emphasizes the significance of repatriating Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican museum as a crucial step towards reconciliation. However, he stresses the importance of handling these items with utmost respect for their sacred nature.
Whiteduck, the education director for Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg, highlights that the process of repatriation should involve ceremonial procedures due to the sacredness of some objects. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak also announced discussions to repatriate First Nations items from the Vatican Museums.
Efforts are underway for the Canadian Catholic Church and the Vatican to finalize an agreement to return the objects by the end of the year, facilitated by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). Whiteduck expresses concerns over the lack of official information and lists detailing the potential items to be returned.
The items are planned to be returned through a “church-to-church” donation process, which Cheyenne Lazore, manager of the Akwesasne Rights & Research Office, opposes. Lazore emphasizes the need for transparency in identifying and returning items to their respective First Nations communities.
Initially, the items will be transferred to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., where Indigenous representatives will collaborate with experts to determine their rightful destinations. Indigenous groups have long been advocating for the return of artifacts taken during the residential school era.
In a meeting with Pope Francis in 2022, Indigenous leaders in Canada viewed the artifacts at the Holy See’s museum and renewed calls for repatriation. Whiteduck underscores the importance of understanding the history and significance of these objects to Indigenous communities.
The return of these items to their communities is seen as a step towards peace by Lazore, yet she acknowledges that full reconciliation is a distant goal, particularly considering the unresolved issues stemming from the residential school system. Many of these artifacts were sent to the Vatican in the early 1920s upon the request of Pope Pius XI, contributing to the museum’s permanent collection. Among them were significant items like a human face mask from Haida Gwaii and a kayak from the Inuvialuit community.
