08/05/2026
The 62 items were originally taken to Rome for the 1925 Vatican Missionary Exhibition, a massive global showcase of Indigenous cultures collected through missionary networks. Many of these objects, including clothing, tools, and ceremonial pieces, came from First Nations, Inuit, and MĂ©tis communities across Canada.
After the exhibition ended, the Vatican kept the items in its ethnological collections for nearly a century. Over time, Indigenous leaders and scholars increasingly questioned how these objects were acquired and whether communities had ever meaningfully consented to their removal.
Calls for their return grew louder during the Truth and Reconciliation era, especially as Indigenous delegations visited the Vatican in 2022 to discuss residential school abuses. During these meetings, community representatives emphasized that cultural belongings are not museum artifacts but living pieces of identity, ceremony, and memory.
In response, the Vatican agreed to return the 62 items so they could be reunited with their rightful custodians. The objects are now being transferred to First Nations, Inuit, and MĂ©tis communities, who will determine how they are cared for, interpreted, or used, restoring a measure of cultural sovereignty that was interrupted nearly a century ago.
