Gilbert Whiteduck emphasizes the significance of repatriating Indigenous items from the Vatican museum as a crucial step towards reconciliation. He stresses the importance of handling these artifacts with utmost respect for their sacred nature, highlighting that mere relocation from the Vatican archives is not sufficient. Whiteduck, the education director for Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg, emphasizes the need for ceremonies to be conducted before the items are returned to their original locations.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak recently announced discussions regarding the repatriation of several First Nations items from the Vatican Museums. The Canadian Catholic Church and the Vatican are reportedly making progress towards an agreement to return these objects by the end of the year, with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) facilitating the process.
Whiteduck expressed concerns about the lack of official information on the discussions and the absence of a comprehensive list of potentially returnable objects to his community. The planned return involves a “church-to-church” donation method, a process that Cheyenne Lazore finds inadequate.
Lazore, the manager of the Akwesasne Rights & Research Office, asserts the need for transparency in identifying and returning items to the respective First Nations. The artifacts will initially be housed at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., where Indigenous representatives will collaborate with experts to determine their final destinations.
Indigenous groups have long been advocating for the repatriation of artifacts taken during the residential school era. A delegation of Indigenous leaders from Canada met with Pope Francis in 2022, renewing calls for repatriation following the appointment of Pope Leo XIV as the head of the Catholic Church. Whiteduck emphasized the importance of understanding the true history of Indigenous communities’ relationships with the Catholic Church and museums from the Indigenous perspective.
The return of these items to individual communities is seen as a step towards peace by Lazore, although full reconciliation remains distant. Many of the Indigenous artifacts held at the Vatican were donated in the early 1920s, following a request by Pope Pius XI for Catholic missions to contribute Indigenous belongings. The items included a human face mask from Haida Gwaii, a kayak from the Inuvialuit, and a pair of beaded moccasins.