When the Vatican announced this month that Pope Leo was giving a “gift” of 62 Indigenous artifacts to Canadian bishops, to be returned to their original communities, some Indigenous leaders celebrated it as a continuation of a reconciliation journey.

While Nisga’a scholar Amy Parent said she was pleased for the communities involved, many questions are left unanswered, and the biggest one is: “Why did it take so long?”

“I’m really happy for them, but also, again, it feels really bittersweet to know that one of the richest, wealthiest churches in the world has taken so long to do the right thing,” said Parent, who is a UNESCO Co-Chair in transforming Indigenous knowledge research governance and rematriation.

The Vatican said it had received the items — including an Inuit kayak, war clubs,

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