OTTAWA - The federal government has lost track of more than 130 Indigenous artworks and risks losing the trust of Indigenous artists if it doesn't take better care of its collection, an internal audit found last year.

The report, dated November 2024, was posted earlier this month on the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada website. It tracked the operations of the department's Indigenous Art Centre from April 2019 to August 2024.

The audit noted the Indigenous Art Centre's collection — first established by the federal government in 1965 to protect, preserve and promote Indigenous art — consists of more than 5,000 artworks from First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists.

The collection is valued at roughly $14.4 million. The audit does not say how much the mislaid artworks

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