Knife found beneath Parliament to be returned to Algonquin nations in historic move
CBC
An ancient Indigenous knife unearthed during the renovation of Centre Block will be the first artifact found on Parliament Hill to be returned to the stewardship of the Algonquin people who live in the Ottawa region.
Archeologists say the return of the stone knife, which is estimated to be 4,000 years old, is a historic move that officially recognizes that Indigenous people inhabited the land — considered unceded territory — that is now the site of Parliament Hill.
The Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, an Algonquin First Nation located about 130 kilometres north of Gatineau, Que., and the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, about 150 kilometres west of Ottawa, are to share ownership of the artifact.
It will be displayed on Parliament Hill when the refurbishment of Centre Block finishes and the building reopens, which is not expected to happen until at least 2030.
Until then, it will be shown in Indigenous communities, including schools, according to Doug Odjick, a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg council.
The knife, shaped from Onondaga chert quarried in Ontario or New York state thousands of years ago, is not the first Indigenous artifact found in the parliamentary precinct. Shards of pottery and a shell bead were found on Parliament Hill in the 1990s.
However, Ian Badgley, manager of the archeology program at the National Capital Commission, said the knife's discovery prompted a new approach by the federal government to returning First Nations artifacts.