Vatican returns Indigenous cultural items to Canada's Catholic bishops on a 'historic day'

A century-old Inuvialuit kayak once used for beluga and whale hunts, along with 61 other cultural objects from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities long held in Vatican Museums vaults, will return to Canada on Dec. 6.

Pope Leo XIV has gifted the cultural items to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), a joint statement by the Vatican and the conference said.

The announcement was made following a meeting at the Holy See between the Pope and a CCCB delegation, including its president, Bishop Pierre Goudreault, Rev. Richard Smith, archbishop of Vancouver, and Rev. Jean Vézina, general secretary.

“At the conclusion of the journey initiated by Pope Francis that included his apostolic journey to Canada in 2022, various audiences with Indigenous communities and the publication of the Declaration on the Doctrine of Discovery in 2023, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV desires that this gift represent a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity,” the statement said.

It also said the Pope has given the objects to the CCCB, who “are committed to ensuring that these artifacts are properly safeguarded, respected and preserved.”

"The CCCB will proceed, as soon as possible, to transfer these artifacts to the National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs). The NIOs will then ensure that the artifacts are reunited with their communities of origin," the Canadian bishops said.

Joyce Napier is Canadian ambassador to the Holy See who was part of the Canadian government effort to help repatriate the cultural items.

Calling the return of the items a “historic day,” Napier added, “There have been many conversations with the Vatican and CCCB, and it was clear the Vatican wished to return the objects,” with Pope Francis’s illness and death temporarily slowing the negotiations, she added.

Napier said the items, now in vaults inside the Vatican Museums, will be packaged in crates and flown to Montreal via Frankfurt on an Air Canada flight set to arrive on Dec. 6.  

From there, they will be shipped to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., where experts will assess their condition, confirm their origins and work with Indigenous representatives to decide where they should ultimately end up.

After years of calls for repatriation, the move is being seen as a significant step for Indigenous communities where for decades children were taken from their families and forced to attend Catholic Church-run residential schools, where abuse was rampant.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand also welcomed the move.

"This is an important step that honors the diverse cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples and supports ongoing efforts toward truth, justice, and reconciliation," Anand wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The return of the items is structured as a church-to-church “gift,” which Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said is the how the Vatican gives back cultural objects, allowing it to avoid setting a precedent of returning items directly to nations or communities.