The Vatican has made a significant move towards acknowledging its historical role in the suppression of Indigenous cultures in the Americas by returning 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples in Canada. This restitution is a pivotal moment in the Catholic Church's reckoning with its past. The artifacts, including a renowned Inuit kayak, were originally given to Pope Leo XIV by a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who are now tasked with returning them to individual Indigenous communities. The Vatican and Canadian church described the return as a 'gift' and a 'concrete sign of dialogue, respect, and fraternity'. The items were part of the Vatican Museum's ethnographic collection, which has been a subject of controversy due to the broader debate over the restitution of cultural goods taken from Indigenous peoples during colonial periods. The collection was amassed in the early 20th century, with most items sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries for an exhibition in the Vatican gardens in 1925. The Vatican insists these items were 'gifts' to Pope Pius XI, but historians and Indigenous groups have questioned the authenticity of these 'gifts' given the power imbalances in Catholic missions at the time. These missions were often complicit in enforcing the Canadian government's forced assimilation policy, which has been labeled 'cultural genocide' by Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This policy included confiscating items used in Indigenous spiritual and traditional rituals, such as the 1885 potlatch ban, which prohibited the integral First Nations ceremony. These confiscated items ended up in museums and private collections worldwide. The restitution process gained momentum after Pope Francis met with Indigenous leaders in 2022, who had traveled to the Vatican to receive his apology for the church's role in running Canada's residential schools. During their visit, they were shown some objects in the collection and asked for their return. Francis later endorsed the return of these items on a case-by-case basis, emphasizing the importance of making gestures when necessary. The Vatican's return of the artifacts during the Holy Year, 100 years after their initial exhibition, is seen as a significant step towards reconciliation. The Canadian ambassador to the Holy See, Joyce Napier, emphasized the historical significance of this action, which Indigenous communities have long been requesting. The Vatican's broader reckoning with its colonial past includes the formal repudiation of the 'Doctrine of Discovery' in 2023, which legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands. This statement marks a recognition of the Vatican's complicity in colonial-era abuses, even though it did not address Indigenous demands for the formal rescinding of the papal bulls themselves.
