Stolen memorial totem pole to be rematriated to Nisga'a territory after nearly a century in Scottish museum

A memorial totem pole belonging to members of the Nisga'a Nation will be formally rematriated on Friday, after being on display in a Scottish museum for nearly a century.

The return of the pole will be celebrated with a ceremony and feast for as many as 1,000 people in the Nass Valley. It will be formally rematriated to the Nisga'a Museum, located in Laxgalts'ap, a village northwest of Terrace, B.C.

The pole was taken without the nation's consent in 1929 by colonial ethnographer Marius Barbeau, who then sold it to the Scottish museum.

In a statement, the Nisga'a said the pole "represents a chapter of the Peoples' cultural sovereignty and is a living constitutional and visual record."

It said Barbeau took the pole without the consent of the House of Ni'isjoohl — one of around 50 houses within the Nisga'a Nation — during a period when the Nisga'a Peoples were away from their villages for the annual hunting, fishing and harvesting season.

The negotiations over the rematriation of the pole have taken a year. A Nisga'a delegation travelled to Scotland to ask for its return in August 2022, and the museum's board of trustees approved the plan later that year.

The Ni'isjoohl memorial pole is a house pole that was carved and erected in the 1860s. It tells the story of Ts'wawit, a warrior who was next in line to be chief before he was killed in a conflict with a neighbouring nation.

Noxs Ts'aawit (Dr. Amy Parent), a member of the nation and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous education and governance, first discovered the memorial pole was in Scotland four years ago. She said her ancestral grandmother had the pole carved and erected in honour of Ts'wawit.

"We know that a carver breathes life into a pole when it is first carved. And so after that point we consider that totem poll to have a living spirit in it and to be a relative. And so it's like bringing a family member home after being gone for almost 100 years," she said.

"It's very significant to have this reunion, and to have this return."

Parent was among the delegation that travelled to Scotland to view the memorial pole, and described the emotional moments when she saw it for the first time.

"We could actually feel the pole let out a sigh of relief when we walked into the room and that was the first time I've ever felt a totem pole and could just feel like the room was moving with us."

The pole began its journey in late August, travelling in the belly of a Canadian military aircraft.

While the Scottish museum initially planned to transport the 11-metre pole by ship, Parent said she felt moving it by plane would reduce the risk of damage.