First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders set to welcome home dozens of First Nations people artifacts released from Vatican collection on Saturday at the Montreal airport.
61 items are part of a long-term program to repatriate items belonging to the Vatican.
Items include embroidered gloves, a kayak and a baby sling that were repatriated after decades of calls from Indigenous leaders.
The return follows years of efforts and ceremonies, including a meeting of the Vatican delegation in 2022 and Pope Francis' visit to Canada the same year, aimed at addressing the legacy of the church's residential schools.
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Assembly of First Nations Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak attended the event at the airport, emphasizing the importance of bringing the artifacts home and noting that “this is the first step” as additional Indigenous items are still housed at the Vatican Museum.
She hopes that over time more such things will be produced – not only for today's youth, but also for previous generations.
“I know that our ancestors are also with us on this journey,” she said during a press conference.
Canada's Minister of Identity and Culture Mark Miller, who also attended the event, welcomed the arrival of the artifacts, calling it a moment of cultural restoration for Indigenous communities.
“When I met with elders who had experienced the trauma of residential schools, they had great hope that you (the Pope) would continue this path of reconciliation,” Miller said.
He added that he “welcomes management's individual efforts to return these items.”
According to museum experts, the artifacts will need time to acclimatize before they are available for public viewing.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
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