The Vatican returns 62 indigenous artifacts held for 100 years to Canada

On the tarmac at Montreal’s airport, the scene was anything but ordinary: First Nations leaders, Inuit representatives and Métis delegates awaited the arrival of special boxes transported on an Air Canada flight. Inside, more than 60 cultural assets held in Vatican museums and deposits for about one hundred years. Among the most anticipated objects, a rare Inuvialuit sealskin kayak, one of the very few still in existence.

The emotion of the delegations was evident: what arrived was not simply museum heritage, but part of the living history of communities affected by centuries of expropriations. The operation marks the culmination of a three-year campaign supported by Pope Francis before his death. Francis’ successor, Pope Leo, confirmed his predecessor’s commitment, officially authorizing the return of the objects through a transfer procedure between ecclesiastical institutions.

A repatriation with complex historical roots

The objects were sent to Rome between 1923 and 1925 for a large missionary exhibition promoted by the Vatican. For decades it was claimed that they had been donated, but several scholars and indigenous leaders dispute this version, recalling that in that period the communities lived under strong cultural pressures, with traditional practices prohibited and residential schools that aimed at forced assimilation.

The 62 artefacts will now be examined at the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec, where they will be documented and temporarily preserved. The communities will later decide where to place them permanently. For Inuit leaders, the possibility of studying kayaking closely will also allow the transmission of traditional techniques that have almost disappeared.

But indigenous organizations point out that this is just the beginning: thousands of other artifacts collected by missionaries during the 19th and 20th centuries remain in the Vatican. Repatriation requests will continue and some communities, such as the Manitoba Métis Federation, are calling for full transparency on the origins of artifacts not yet returned.

Although the return of the objects therefore represents a significant step in the process of rebuilding the relationship between the Catholic Church and indigenous peoples and an encouraging sign, the communities remember that the work towards complete restitution and true historical responsibility is still long.