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The Vatican is returning 62 items from its collection of native art and other items to indigenous tribes in Canada as part of its atonement for its role in suppressing “indigenous culture” in the Americas, the Vatican announced Saturday.
Pope Leo XIV has sent the artifacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said it would return the items to their original indigenous communities “as soon as possible.” A Vatican and Canadian church statement described the artifacts as a “gift” and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity,” according to a“This is an important step that honours the diverse cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples and supports ongoing efforts toward truth, justice, and reconciliation,” Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand wrote on X. Since 1925, the items were featured as part of the Vatican Museum’s ethnographic collection, known today as the Anima Mundi museum. However, it was one of the museum’s least visited collections located “near the food court and right before the main exit,” Items were originally collected by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibit in the Vatican gardens. The exhibition included “feathered headdresses, carved walrus tusks, masks and embroidered animal skins,” which the Vatican said were “gifts” to Pope Pius XI, who “wanted to celebrate the Church’s global reach,” according to AP. Pope Francis dons a headdress during a visit with Indigenous peoples at Maskwaci, the former Ermineskin Residential School, Monday, July 25, 2022, in Maskwacis, Alberta. Pope Francis traveled to Canada to apologize to Indigenous peoples for the abuses committed by Catholic missionaries in the country’s notorious residential schools. In the modern era, the collection became a controversy in that the items were cultural goods taken from Indigenous people during the colonial periods when the “balance of power” was in the favor of the Church and the government.Historians, Indigenous groups and experts have long questioned whether the items could really have been offered freely, given the power imbalances at play in Catholic missions at the time. In those years, Catholic religious orders were helping to enforce the Canadian government’s forced assimilation policy of eliminating Indigenous traditions, which Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called “cultural genocide.” The artifacts are scheduled to arrive in Montreal on December 6 at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa and then be “reunited with their originating communities,” a spokesman for the Canadian bishops’ conference told news outlets.Report: More Than 70 % Palisades Fire Victims Still in Temporary HousingJets Cornerback Kris Boyd in Critical Condition After Being Shot in NYCWATCH — North Carolina: DHS Begins Arresting Illegals in ‘Operation Charlotte’s Web’Texas, California National Guard Being Recalled from Chicago, Portland DeploymentsMTG: Trump Calling Me a Traitor Puts ‘My Life in Danger’VIDEO: ‘Maine Girl Dads’ Gather Thousands of Signatures to Protect Girls’ Sports from Transgender Athletes
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Vatican returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples in CanadaThe Vatican has returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada. This move is part of the Catholic Church’s effort to address its role in suppressing Indigenous culture in the Americas. On Saturday, Pope Leo XIV gave the items to a delegation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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Pope returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada as part of reckoning with colonial pastThe Vatican has returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada.
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Pope returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada as part of reckoning with colonial pastThe Vatican has returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada.
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Pope returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from CanadaThe Vatican has returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada
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Pope Leo returns artifacts from Vatican Museum to Indigenous peoples from CanadaToday's Video Headlines: 11/14/25
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Vatican Returns 62 Artifacts to Canadian Indigenous Peoples in Historic RestitutionThe Vatican has returned 62 artifacts, including an Inuit kayak, to Indigenous peoples in Canada, as part of its efforts to reconcile with its role in the suppression of Indigenous culture. This historic restitution is a significant step towards healing and acknowledging past wrongs.
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