On Tuesday morning, a dozen Inuit items returned from the Vatican went on display at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
Items included a traditional Inuvialuit kayak, which is believed to be one of five built by hand over a century ago.
In total, 62 items from the Vatican arrived at Montreal’s airport on Sunday. Pope Leo XIV gifted the cultural artifacts that had been part of the Vatican Museums’ Anima Mundi collection to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in celebration of the Jubilee of Hope declared by Pope Francis.
Items will be returned to their communities of origin after First Nations, Inuit, and Métis members have called for years for collection to be reunited with Canada. In 2017, First Nations-in-Assembly passed a resolution mandating the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) to advocate for the return of the cultural items.
“Our relatives are finally home. For First Nations, these are not only artifacts. They are sacred, living items. My thoughts are with all the Elders and First Nations that have made the efforts to bring them back to our traditional territories,” said National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, Assembly of First Nations. “Today is an important moment, but it is far from the end. Our hope is that our shared work sets an example of a respectful approach to repatriation and reconciliation that will see more items returned to their Nations.”
On social media, Governor General Mary Simon said the return of these items marks an important step towards reconciliation, acknowledging Inuit culture, and decades of effort by Inuit to bring these belongings back.”
