Vatican Returns 62 Indigenous Artifacts to Canada, Including Rare Inuvialuit Sealskin Kayak

Indigenous leaders waited on the snowy tarmac at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport as a shipment from an Air Canada jet was unloaded on Saturday. The crates contained 62 cultural artifacts—among them a rare Inuvialuit sealskin kayak—that were taken from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities more than a century ago and held in Vatican museums and vaults since being displayed in Rome.

Footage from CBC News, a CNN affiliate, captured an emotional homecoming that capped a persistent three‑year campaign by Indigenous leaders. The effort had the endorsement of Pope Francis before his death and follows his apology for abuses at church‑run residential schools in Canada.

Origins and Contested Provenance

The objects were first brought to Rome for the 1925 Vatican Mission Exposition, a 13‑month exhibition that showcased the Church’s global influence and drew millions of visitors. The Vatican has long maintained the items were presented as gifts to Pope Pius XI, who led the Church from 1922, but Indigenous communities and scholars dispute that account given the broader context of the era.

Cody Groat, Assistant Professor of History and Indigenous Studies at Western University, told CNN that, in the context of laws and policies aimed at erasing Indigenous identity, “it’s highly contestable that this was the meaningful ‘gifting’ of items.”

Many of the artifacts were collected at a time when Canadian legislation and institutions sought to suppress Indigenous languages, spiritual practices and cultural life—including through compulsory attendance at church‑run residential schools designed to assimilate Indigenous children.

Repatriation, Next Steps and Reconciliation

Last month the Holy See and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that Pope Leo would “gift” the items and their documentation back to Indigenous communities, describing the decision as “the conclusion of the journey initiated by Pope Francis.” The repatriation reflects a broader international trend of museums returning objects taken under colonial or questionable circumstances to their communities of origin.

First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak called the return “an important and emotional moment for many First Nations across the country,” while acknowledging that the larger project of reconciliation continues: “We’ve come a long way, and we have a long way to go.”

CBC reported that the 62 artifacts represent only a small portion of the thousands of colonial‑era Indigenous objects still held by the Vatican. There is no publicly released, comprehensive inventory of the items being repatriated.

The artifacts will be examined at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, near Ottawa, where Indigenous experts will research provenance and advise on appropriate community destinations for each object. Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said officials are "looking forward to unboxing the items, having Inuit leadership and experts identify where each object comes from in our communities, and sharing that knowledge with Canadian Inuit and the country as a whole."

Scholars and Indigenous leaders emphasize that many of these objects are regarded as cultural ancestors with their own life or sentience; returning them supports cultural continuity, language and practice revitalization.

As the items rejoin communities, Indigenous leaders and the Church say the repatriation is a significant step—but not the end—of a broader, ongoing effort toward truth, healing and reconciliation.