Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican collection return to Canada

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said it was an important and emotional moment for all First Nations, and she hoped it would be important for all Canadians.

“We’ve come a long way, and we have a long way to go,” she said at the airport.

The leaders were present on the tarmac while snowflakes fell as the artifacts, still in large crates, were lowered from the belly of an Air Canada jet. Woodhouse Nepinak, head bowed, placed her hand onto some of the packed materials.

Katisha Paul, a youth representative for the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said the objects are more than simply artifacts. 

“They are our belongings, our ancestors, vital indicators of our nation’s histories,” she said.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders have for years called on the Vatican to repatriate Indigenous items in their collection. The leaders brought up the artifacts when they met with Pope Francis in Rome in 2022 to discuss the legacy of church-run residential schools.

The delegation, which included Woodhouse Nepinak, was given a private viewing of some of the items held by the church during the Rome visit, including embroidered gloves, a kayak and a sling for carrying a baby. Some of the artifacts had not been seen by the public in decades.

The leaders left the Vatican empty-handed but with a renewed determination to bring the items back where they belong.

Pope Francis later visited Canada in July 2022. When he died, Woodhouse Nepinak repeated the call for the artifacts’ return to his successor, Pope Leo.

Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller, who was also at Montreal’s airport Saturday to welcome the artifacts, previously served as the minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and has assisted the repatriation efforts.

Miller said other countries are housing similar objects, and that Canada “needs to do more.”

Woodhouse Nepinak reflected on the journey that she said started around 2006, when former prime minister Stephen Harper apologized for the federal government’s role in residential schools.

Out of that apology came the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated the history and legacy of the institutions and drafted 94 “calls to action” for government, businesses, churches and Canadians.

Those calls to action include a section on museums and archives, mostly directed at the federal government and Canadian museums. The Assembly of First Nations passed a separate resolution to repatriate artifacts.

During the Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa this week, Woodhouse Nepinak participated in a ceremony with youth who travelled back to Canada with the items.

“I’m so proud of them,” she said. “I have so much hope in them, that they write books about it and go on to educate this country …

“We have to begin to tell our own side of the story, rather than other people telling it for us.”

Paul and Peyal Laceese, a youth ambassador from Tsilhqotʼin Nation, both took part of the repatriation efforts, and spoke to The Canadian Press from Frankfurt, Germany, before they boarded the plane carrying the artifacts on the way to Montreal.

Paul and Laceese sat just feet away from the items on the plane, but said the process isn’t about them.

Rather, it’s about their ancestors, and carrying on the work of those who came before them.

“It’s not about bringing home intimate objects or items or even artifacts. To us, it’s about bringing home memories. It’s about bringing home the dignity and the power that was taken away from our ancestors. In some ways, you’re restoring those energies,” Laceese said.

He said his people would traditionally send messengers back and forth to let people know when something is coming — new songs, teachings or protocols. He sees the repatriation efforts in the same light.

“They’re going to be revitalized,” he said.

The artifacts will not be available for public viewing until the new year. Woodhouse Nepinak said they’ll need time to acclimatize.

“I’m just listening to the museum experts,” she said. “I guess the air might be different in Europe than it is here.”

She also said the return of these 62 objects will not be the end of the story.

“There’s more First Nations artifacts at the Vatican Museum. This is just the start,” Woodhouse Nepinak said.

Both Paul and Laceese stressed that when the items do return home, Indigenous Peoples should see the repatriation as a “unification” and an opportunity to visit with teachers — those teachers being the items themselves, which can reveal how they were created to revive techniques and spirits.

“Share with those that are keen and are wanting to be included in the work, tell the youth not to be scared to share their voice and to pick up their tools — the tools that their elders, aunties, uncles and parents taught them to use — to join the good work,” Laceese said.

—With files from Alessia Passafiume in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2025.