Indigenous artifacts from Vatican welcomed in Montreal ceremony Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith said the 62 Indigenous cultural items received from the Vatican marks \u201ca gift freely given\u201d and an important step in rebuilding trust between the Catholic Church and Indigenous peoples. The artifacts, including a rare century-old Western Arctic kayak, were formally transferred to Indigenous leaders in Montreal as part of the Jubilee of Hope declared by Pope Francis. Before his death, the pope expressed his wish that the items be returned. Pope Leo XIV carried out that intention, gifting them from the Vatican Museums\u2019 Anima Mundi collection to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) for immediate repatriation. \u201cThis gesture is a gift freely given \u2014 an act of reconciliation rooted in the grace of the Jubilee Year of Hope,\u201d said Smith, a member of the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council and one of the CCCB\u2019s key representatives during the repatriation process. \u201cA gift, unlike restitution, is offered in freedom and friendship, as a sign of renewed relationship and mutual respect between the Church and Indigenous peoples.\u201d Leaders from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC), and the M\u00e9tis National Council traveled to Montreal to receive the items. Local First Nations leadership held a ceremony to welcome the sacred items and bundles back to Canada. For the Inuvialuit, the return of the rare kayak marks the culmination of a long-held hope. \u201cWe are proud that after 100 years our kayak is returning to the Inuvialuit Settlement Region,\u201d said Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. \u201cIt is believed to be one of only five of its kind built more than a century ago\u2026 This is a historic step in revitalizing Inuvialuit cultural identity and values within our changing northern society.\u201d Indigenous leaders noted that Elders and Residential School Survivors have worked toward this moment for decades. A 2017 Assembly of First Nations resolution mandated efforts to secure the return of sacred items taken abroad, while the IRC has pressed specifically for the kayak\u2019s repatriation. \u201cThis step reflects the courage and persistence of the leaders, elders, and survivors who came before us,\u201d said Victoria Pruden, president of the M\u00e9tis National Council. \u201cBut this is not the end of the journey\u2026 Reconciliation is ongoing work, grounded in relationships, responsibility, and the continued pursuit of truth, justice, healing, and dignity for our peoples.\u201d National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak called the return \u201can important moment\u201d for First Nations. \u201cOur relatives are finally home,\u201d she said. \u201cFor First Nations, these are not only artifacts. They are sacred, living items.\u201d Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said Inuit are grateful to the institutions and partners who helped bring the items home. \u201cWe are at the very early stages of our reconciliation journey,\u201d he said, \u201cbut we are pleased to see these cultural items return to us.\u201d According to the CCCB, the artifacts will be housed temporarily at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, where national Indigenous organizations will lead the work to establish the provenance of each item and determine its final destination. The handover in Canada follows a November audience in Rome, where Pope Leo XIV formally entrusted the artifacts to Bishop Pierre Goudreault, president of the CCCB; Archbishop Smith; and Father Jean V\u00e9zina, the conference\u2019s general secretary. The items \u2014 including an Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins, and etchings \u2014 had been held in the Vatican Museums for more than a century. Smith said in an interview last month the transfer was \u201ca milestone in the long journey of reconciliation and healing,\u201d and especially meaningful as the Jubilee Year of Hope draws to a close. \u201cThis jubilee, like previous jubilees, wants to emphasize the importance of healing relationships,\u201d he told America magazine. A statement from the Holy See and the CCCB in November said the gift marks \u201cthe conclusion of the journey initiated by Pope Francis,\u201d who met Indigenous delegations repeatedly before his 2022 \u201cpenitential pilgrimage\u201d to Canada and later directed that the items be returned. Pope Leo \u201cdesires that this gift represent a concrete sign of dialogue, respect, and fraternity,\u201d the statement said. Smith said the bishops\u2019 role \u201chas really been a facilitating one, just working with the Holy See, working with the Indigenous leaders to make this happen.\u201d He noted that the momentum \u201cgoes back to Pope Francis\u2026 it\u2019s really something that grew out of his heart.\u201d Goudreault said Pope Leo\u2019s decision to entrust the items to the bishops \u2014 rather than to a government or directly to an Indigenous body \u2014 was \u201ca tangible sign of his desire to help Canada\u2019s bishops walk alongside Indigenous peoples in a spirit of reconciliation during the Jubilee Year of Hope and beyond.\u201d The artifacts originated from First Nations, M\u00e9tis, and Inuit communities and were part of the ethnological exhibition organized for the Vatican Missionary Exhibition of 1925. Missionaries sent them to Rome between 1923 and 1925 for the display encouraged by Pope Pius XI, after which they were incorporated into the Vatican\u2019s collection. Documentation certifying their origins and transport was transferred alongside the items. Canadian ambassador to the Holy See Joyce Napier called the return \u201can important and a right step.\u201d The Vatican has made similar gestures recently, including the return of three fragments of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece in 2023. This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic, has been adapted by CNA, and is reprinted here with permission. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today EWTN Vatican on WhatsApp The B.C. Catholic Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter. 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