The Vatican has returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples of Canada, including an Inuit kayak, as part of a re-evaluation of the Catholic Church's role in suppressing Indigenous cultures. These items, which were exhibited in Rome 100 years ago, will now be handed over to individual communities.
On Saturday, November 15, the Vatican returned 62 artifacts to the indigenous peoples of Canada. This is a historic gesture, part of a re-evaluation of the Catholic Church's role in suppressing indigenous cultures in America. This was reported by AP, writes UNN.
Details
Pope Leo XIV handed over the artifacts, including an iconic Eskimo kayak, to a delegation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The items are expected to be returned to individual indigenous communities. In a joint statement, the Vatican and the Canadian church called it a "gift" and a "concrete sign of dialogue, respect, and fraternity."
The artifacts come from the Vatican Museums' Anima Mundi ethnographic collection, which has been the subject of years of controversy regarding the origin of items acquired during colonial periods.
Most of the exhibits arrived in Rome through Catholic missionaries for an exhibition in 1925. The Vatican claims they were "gifts" to Pope Pius XI as a demonstration of the Church's global presence and the lives of the indigenous peoples it evangelized.
But historians, indigenous peoples, and experts have long doubted that these were voluntary gifts, given the power imbalance and colonial policies. At the time, Catholic orders helped implement policies of forced assimilation, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada called "cultural genocide."
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In particular, the 1885 ban on potlatches led to the confiscation of traditional ceremonial objects, which later ended up in museums in Canada, the USA, Europe, and private collections.
Addition
In 2022, Pope Francis met with a delegation of indigenous peoples who came to receive an apology for the Church's role in the residential school system. During the visit, they saw artifacts, including a kayak, wampum belts, war clubs, and masks, and asked for their return. Francis then stated that he supported the return of the items "if necessary," calling it the right gesture.
The return took place exactly 100 years after the first exhibition of artifacts in Rome.
The Catholic Church of Canada has committed to ensuring the proper storage, respect, and protection of the artifacts before they are returned to the communities.
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Initially, the items will be delivered to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, where specialists, together with representatives of indigenous peoples, will determine their origin and future fate.
This is part of a broader process of re-evaluating the Catholic Church's role in colonization. In 2023, the Vatican officially rejected the "Doctrine of Discovery" – 15th-century papal bulls that legitimized the seizure of indigenous lands.
Despite this, many indigenous peoples continue to demand the official repeal of these documents.
The Vatican stated that the return of the artifacts is the culmination of a process initiated by Pope Francis.
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