London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

Canada indigenous seek dialogue with Vatican on repatriation of artefacts

Canadian indigenous leaders seeking an apology for the Catholic Church's role in notorious residential schools where children where abused also want to start a dialogue on the return of native artefacts held in the Vatican Museums.
"My view is that we should sit down with Church officials and begin discussions about repatriation," Phil Fontaine of the Sagkeeng First Nation and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), told Reuters.

Fontaine, 77, was part of an AFN delegation that spoke to the pope privately for two hours on Thursday. They want Pope Francis to travel to Canada to make an official apology there for the schools where indigenous children were abused and their culture denied.

Fontaine and other participants said the return of artefacts also came up in three meetings with the pope this week.

In 1925, Pope Pius IX held a world exposition of indigenous artefacts, displaying more than 100,000 objects, most sent to the Vatican by Catholic missionaries from around the world.

Nearly half of them later formed a new Missionary Ethnological Museum in Rome and were transferred to the Vatican Museums in the 1970s.

One item the delegates saw is a kayak made of wood and sealskin by the Inuvialuit people of the Mackenzie Delat of the Western Arctic and believed to be between 100 and 150 years old.

While one Inuvialuit leader last year demanded its immediate return to Canada, Fontaine called for a calm, studied solution to repatriation.

"We have to decide where we want those to go and how they are going to be protected, what kind of environment they will be placed in," Fontaine told Reuters in St. Peter's Square.

"There are museums all over the world with indigenous artefacts from Canada and so this has to be a very involved discussion with many different jurisdictions," he said.

That would have to include determining if items were gifts or taken without permission, he said.

"It isn't unique to the Catholic Church but that does not prohibit the Catholic Church and its highest authorities from beginning discussions on what to do about these artefacts and their repatriation to Canada," he said.

The Vatican Museums often lend items to other institutions and have said the kayak might go on tour after it is restored.
Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
The main artefacts they want back is the bottles the fire water came in, there still might be a drip or two in the bottom

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×