Gilbert Whiteduck emphasized the significance of repatriating Indigenous items from the Vatican museum as a positive step towards reconciliation. He stressed the importance of handling these items with utmost care and respect for their sacred nature, highlighting that proper ceremonies may need to be conducted before their return to their original communities.
The Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak recently announced discussions to repatriate several First Nations items from the Vatican Museums. Progress is being made between the Canadian Catholic Church and the Vatican to facilitate the return of these objects by the end of the year through the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).
Whiteduck expressed the need for transparency in the process, mentioning the lack of official information regarding the potential objects to be returned to his community. The planned “church-to-church” donation method for the return of these items has raised concerns among Indigenous representatives like Cheyenne Lazore, who emphasized the importance of proper identification and allocation of items to their respective nations.
The returned items will initially be housed at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, where experts will collaborate with Indigenous representatives to determine their final destinations. Indigenous organizations have long advocated for the return of artifacts taken during the residential school era, and the recent delegation of Indigenous leaders meeting with Pope Francis in 2022 further fueled the calls for repatriation.
Whiteduck highlighted the historical context of these items being taken from Indigenous communities as a means of undermining their cultural identity, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of the Indigenous perspective on the significance of these objects. The potential return of these items to individual communities is seen as a step towards healing, although full reconciliation remains a distant goal.
Many Indigenous artifacts currently held at the Vatican were donated in the early 1920s following a request by Pope Pius XI for Catholic missions to contribute Indigenous belongings. Among the artifacts sent were a human face mask from Haida Gwaii, a kayak from the Inuvialuit community, and a pair of beaded moccasins.