Gilbert Whiteduck emphasized the significance of repatriating Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican museum as a crucial step towards reconciliation. He stressed the importance of handling these items with respect for their sacred nature, expressing that it involves more than just physically moving them from the Vatican archives. Whiteduck, the education director for Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg, highlighted the need for ceremonies to be conducted before the artifacts can be returned to their original locations.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak announced discussions with the Vatican Museums to repatriate several First Nations items. The Canadian Catholic Church and the Vatican are reportedly making progress towards an agreement to return the objects by the end of the year, with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops facilitating the process.
Whiteduck expressed his struggle to find official information about the discussions online and mentioned the absence of an official list detailing potentially repatriated objects for his community. The items are expected to be returned through a “church-to-church” donation process, a method that Cheyenne Lazore disagreed with, advocating for a transparent identification process to ensure each First Nation’s rightful belongings are returned.
The Indigenous artifacts will be initially housed at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., where experts will collaborate with Indigenous representatives to determine the items’ final destinations. Indigenous groups have long urged the Vatican to return artifacts taken during the residential school era. Following private tours of the Holy See’s museum in 2022, Indigenous leaders called for repatriation, particularly after Pope Leo XIV’s appointment as the head of the Catholic Church.
Whiteduck emphasized the need to understand the historical significance of these artifacts to Indigenous communities and stressed that their importance goes beyond the physical objects themselves. Lazore expressed hope that returning the items to their respective communities could bring some peace, though acknowledging that full reconciliation is still a distant goal.
Many of the Indigenous items held at the Vatican were donated in the early 1920s after a request by Pope Pius XI for Catholic missions worldwide to contribute Indigenous belongings. The artifacts, including a human face mask from Haida Gwaii, a kayak from Inuvialuit, and a pair of beaded moccasins, totaled around 100,000 pieces and became part of the Vatican’s permanent collection.