Saturday 6 December 2025 – Montreal / Ottawa, Canada
Written by: Swikblog News Desk
After more than a century in Vatican vaults and museum cases, 62 Indigenous cultural belongings are finally coming home to Canada. The return of the artifacts – including an iconic Inuit kayak and ceremonial objects – is being hailed by Indigenous leaders as a powerful step in the country’s long journey toward truth, justice and reconciliation.
What Is Coming Back to Canada?
The shipment contains dozens of carefully catalogued items that were held inside the Vatican’s ethnographic museum, now known as the Anima Mundi collection. Among them are:
- An Inuit kayak believed to be around a century old
- Ceremonial masks, headdresses and belts
- Carved clubs, tools and other traditional objects
- Textiles and clothing pieces linked to specific Indigenous nations
Many of these pieces were collected by Catholic missionaries in the early 1900s and sent to Rome for a vast 1925 exhibition that aimed to show the global reach of the Church. For Indigenous communities, however, they represent stories, ceremonies and ancestors that were removed during a period of forced assimilation and cultural suppression.
Who Travelled to Bring the Artifacts Home?
The crates of belongings are being accompanied on their journey by a delegation from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and a group of First Nations youth. Their route takes them from Europe through Frankfurt to Montreal, where the artifacts are formally welcomed onto Canadian soil.
For the young people in the delegation, the trip is both a history lesson and a responsibility. They are witnessing the moment that objects taken from their ancestors generations ago are placed back into Indigenous hands – a living example of what repatriation and self-determination look like in practice.
Why Were Indigenous Artifacts in the Vatican?
The Vatican has long argued that the pieces were “gifts” from missionaries to Pope Pius XI for the 1925 exhibition. But Indigenous leaders and historians say that story is, at best, incomplete. The artifacts were collected at a time when Catholic religious orders were working hand in glove with the Canadian state to enforce residential schools and bans on traditional ceremonies.
During those years, sacred objects were confiscated, sold, or removed from communities under intense pressure. Some eventually made their way into European and North American museums, including the Vatican’s collection. For many families, the disappearance of these items symbolised the attempt to erase Indigenous cultures themselves.
A New Phase in Church–Indigenous Relations
The return of the 62 artifacts follows a series of historic moments between Indigenous leaders and the Catholic Church. In 2022, Pope Francis travelled to Canada and apologised for the Church’s role in the residential school system. The following year, the Vatican formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” – a set of centuries-old papal decrees that had been used to justify colonisation and land theft.
Now, the Church is framing the handover of artifacts as a concrete sign that those words are being matched by action. Church officials say the return is intended as an “act of sharing” and a gesture of respect toward the Indigenous communities whose cultural belongings they held for decades.
Major Canadian outlets have also reported on the return of these cultural belongings, including detailed coverage from CBC News, CTV News, and Yahoo News Canada. Additional context on repatriation processes can be found through the Canadian Museum of History, which is supporting the next stage of conservation and community-led research.
Where Will the Artifacts Go Next?
After arriving in Montreal, the artifacts will first be transferred to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Québec, which will work with Indigenous experts and communities to determine each item’s origin and rightful home.
Wherever the provenance is clear, the goal is to have the pieces reunited with their originating communities – not kept in storage or hidden behind institutional walls. Where the history is uncertain, the museum will hold the items in trust while Indigenous researchers lead the work of identifying them.
Why This Matters for Reconciliation in Canada
In Canada, repatriation of cultural property is widely viewed as a key part of the Truth and Reconciliation process. Cultural belongings are not just museum objects: they are tied to language, law, ceremony and identity. Bringing them home helps repair intergenerational damage caused by residential schools, bans on ceremonies and the systemic theft of Indigenous land and culture.
For many leaders, the Vatican’s move is welcome – but only a beginning. There are still thousands of Indigenous items in European and North American museums, and advocates are calling for clearer inventories, transparent provenance research and more formal pathways for their return.
How Canada and the World Are Responding
Canadian officials have welcomed the return as a sign that international institutions are finally recognising their responsibilities. Museums across Canada and beyond are updating their policies on acquisitions and repatriation, acknowledging that many collections were built in eras of profound inequality and coercion.
Indigenous artists, scholars and elders stress that repatriation is not about erasing history, but about placing it in the right hands. When objects are cared for by the communities that created them, they can be used in teaching, ceremony and everyday life, rather than remaining static behind glass.
What to Watch For Next
Over the coming months, communities will decide how – or if – these artifacts should be displayed. Some may be kept in community cultural centres or museums; others may return to ceremonial use or be stored according to traditional protocols.
One thing is clear: the journey of these 62 artifacts is being seen as a test case. If successful, it could put pressure on other institutions to open their vaults, share information about what they hold, and work directly with Indigenous nations on future returns.
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Further Reading
For readers who want to dive deeper into how repatriation works in Canada and around the world, you can explore:
- Background on Indigenous artifact repatriation in Canada and how it connects to Truth and Reconciliation initiatives, via Canadian museum and academic resources.
- Recent coverage from major outlets documenting the Vatican’s decision to return the artifacts and the response from Indigenous leaders.
