Indigenous artifacts returned by Vatican unveiled at Canadian museum

Indigenous artifacts taken from Canada by Catholic missionaries to Rome a century ago were unveiled at the Canadian Museum of History on Tuesday, repatriations that have sparked calls for the Vatican to return other treasured items.

The return of the 62 artifacts, including a rare kayak, is “historic,” said Governor General Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person to serve as the monarchy’s representative in Canada.

“For too long, these artifacts were separated from the Indigenous communities to whom they belong,” she said in a statement.

Cody Groat, an expert in Indigenous cultural heritage at Western University in Ontario, told AFP there are “conflicting interpretations” of the circumstances that saw the items brought to Rome in the 1920s.

“The Vatican is very much using language that