Gilbert Whiteduck says the repatriation of indigenous objects from the Vatican Museum is an important step towards reconciliation, but the objects must be handled in a way that reflects their sacred nature.
“It’s not just a matter of taking an object from the Vatican Archives and Museums and just moving it,” said Whiteduck, director of education for Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg.
“Some of these items may well be, depending on what they are, very sacred in themselves. And there will need to be a ceremony before they can even make that journey, the journey back to where they came from.”
Assembly of First Nations Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak released a statement last week announcing the national organization was in talks to repatriate a number of Indigenous objects from the Vatican Museums.
The Canadian Catholic Church and the Vatican are reportedly moving towards an agreement on return the items by the end of the yearand returns will be facilitated Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).
So far, Whiteduck said, he has had to search the Internet for any information about these discussions. Moreover, he says there is no official list of what items could potentially be returned to his community.
Transfer “from church to church”
The items will be returned as a church-to-church donation, something Cheyenne Lazor disagrees with.
“These indigenous peoples need to see what's really out there, and we need to identify what belongs to which nation,” said Lazor, manager of the Akwesasne Rights and Research Office.
“Many things have been stolen and each indigenous people will be able to identify what belongs to us. For example, there are specific identifiers that will allow us to know what belongs to each community.”
The items will first be returned to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., where experts will work with First Nations representatives to determine where the items will go.
Indigenous and Indigenous organizations have for years called on the Vatican to return artifacts taken from their communities during the residential school era.
In 2022 delegation of indigenous leaders in Canada, met with Pope Francis and viewed indigenous artifacts during private tours of the Holy See Museum.
Leaders renewed calls for repatriation following the appointment of Pope Leo XIV as head of the Catholic Church in May.
“Residential schools, the confiscation of objects by the Vatican, these are all ways to weaken who we were and who we are,” Whiteduck said, adding that the true history of Indigenous peoples' relationship with the Catholic Church and museums needs to be known and understood from an Indigenous perspective.
“I think it's not entirely clear – it's not entirely clear why objects found in the Vatican are really important to us and, as I said, contain much more than just the object itself.”
Returning items to individual communities may bring some peace, but is still far from complete reconciliation, Lazor said.
“Thank you for returning our things, but many of our children still have not returned home from the boarding schools they were taken from,” she said.
Many of these indigenous objects housed in the Vatican were sent in the early 1920s, after Pope Pius XI asked for Catholic missions around the world. donate indigenous property.
Some 100,000 artifacts were sent to the Vatican, many of which became part of its permanent collection. Among them was a human mask from Haida Gwaii, a kayak from Inuvialuit and a pair of beads moccasins.
