How Alberta is facilitating the repatriation of Indigenous artifacts

Andrea Huncar · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 21, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

In the precocious 1980s, Lewis Cardinal was among six Indigenous men who ran 4,400 kilometres from Edmonton to New York City successful the wintertime to retrieve Cree Chief Big Bear's grizzly paw ineffable bundle.

To this day, it's housed successful the American Museum of Natural History successful New York. But the elders' teachings offered during that seven-month quest unrecorded on.

"What they told america is that this tally is not astir returning the bundle, but it's astir sending a connection to each these young Indigenous radical … to instrumentality back," Cardinal, an pedagogue and storyteller from Sucker Creek First Nation, located successful bluish Alberta, said successful a caller interview.

"It's clip to instrumentality backmost to the ceremonies successful bid to assistance them heal."

On Saturday, arsenic celebrations crossed Canada honour National Indigenous Peoples Day, calls to instrumentality ineffable artifacts scattered astir the globe are being renewed.

A letter-writing campaign, launched by the Alberta Museums Association, urges the national authorities to amusement enactment regarding the soon-to-be auctioned disconnected postulation of the bankrupt Hudson's Bay Company.

A spokesperson for the Department of Canadian Heritage said it is actively monitoring HBC's upcoming auction, mindful that immoderate items "may beryllium of large value to Indigenous Peoples."

The national authorities has nary overarching ineligible model to usher the analyzable process of repatriation, but Alberta stands retired arsenic an example

"Alberta is really the lone jurisdiction successful Canada that has enacted authorities astir repatriation of ineffable and ceremonial artifacts," said Jack Ives, a retired University of Alberta anthropology professor. He helped trade the First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act, which passed successful 2000.

Ives said a careful, deliberate pathway is needed to guarantee the close groups are consulted and items extremity up wherever they're expected to. In a achromatic market, helium added, they could beryllium worthy millions.

Since the authorities passed, much than  2,000 ineffable objects person been repatriated to First Nations from authorities collections astatine the Royal Alberta and Glenbow museums, successful consultation with communities.

Museum civilization has shifted, too, with an accent connected amplifying diverse, authentic voices, cultivating knowing and gathering community, said Meaghan Patterson, enforcement manager of the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM).

"Sometimes they're identifying objects, they're telling stories, and past they're deciding what they'd similar to person returned to the community," Patterson said.

A lawsuit successful constituent is the Manitou Stone — oregon Manitou Asinîy, arsenic it's known successful Cree. The 145-kilogram meteorite was repatriated from a assemblage successful Coburg, Ont., eastbound of Toronto, successful 1972 aft 160 years.

Once housed successful the RAM's geological section, the Manitou Asinîy present has its ain protected space, mimicking its archetypal earthly location that overlooked the Iron River adjacent Hardisty, Alta., astir 175 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

The scent of sage and sweetgrass also lingers successful the abstraction from cleansing and ceremony.

But Cardinal, of Sucker Creek First Nation, says existent advancement won't travel until repatriation is addressed connected sovereign footing betwixt Canada and First Nations.

He said the displacement besides requires a cardinal alteration successful language.

"Rematriation is the astir due word that we person now," said Cardinal.

Repatriation focuses connected returning objects to their spot of origin. But rematriation goes deeper, seeking to besides reconstruct matrilineal perspectives.

"Rematriation is going backmost to that consciousness of equilibrium and bushed due to the fact that that's what Mother Earth teaches us," helium said.