After a journey of nearly 7,000 kilometers, the totem pole of the Nisga’a Nation in British Columbia, which was on display at the National Museum of Scotland, is finally home. Hundreds of people took part in the celebrations of this gesture of reconciliation.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Friday, the totem pole arrived on the street at the Nisga’a Museum in the village of Lax̱g̱altsʼap, followed by a procession of cars.
“As soon as I saw him arrive, I felt relieved and reassured,” said Amy Parent, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Governance and Education at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
The return of the Nisga’a totem is the result of four years of effort by the researcher.
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The totem pole had been on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh since 1930. He was finally repatriated to the village of Laxgalts’ap in British Columbia on September 29, 2023.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Francis Plourde
Every time we achieve such success, it is a milestone for all indigenous peoples. I hope this will inspire other colonial institutions to make gestures of reparation.
Deputy Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Daniel Quan-Watson, who accompanied the Nisga’a Nation in its repatriation efforts, also believes the nation’s example will serve as a lesson despite the challenges.
Afterwards, members of the family of Joanna Moody, who commissioned the construction of the totem pole in 1860, gathered to pay their respects and greet the totem before its entry into the Nisga’a Museum.
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Chief Earl Stephens (left foreground) is part of the family for whom the totem was originally carved.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Darryl Dyck
When our great-great-great-grandmother saw this carved totem, it was in honor of a son who would become the next leader of the community, remembers Chief Earl Stephens.
A ceremony open to the public and media was held in the early afternoon, marked by songs and prayers to celebrate the return of a member of the community. In the Nisga’a tradition, totem poles are considered inhabited.
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Hundreds of people attended the totem return ceremony on September 29, 2023.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Darryl Dyck
In addition to family and people from the community, several dignitaries were in attendance, including British Columbia Premier David Eby and provincial Aboriginal Affairs Minister Murray Rankin.
It’s an inspiring day. Through action we can move forward and build something new. Today a form of justice was served.
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In August 2022, a delegation from the Nisga’a First Nation traveled to Scotland to demand repatriation, including Sim’oogit Ni’isjoohl (Earl Stephens). [à gauche] and Sigidimnak’ Nox Ts’aawit (Amy Parent) [à droite].
Photo: National Museums Scotland
The day before the celebration, Nisga’a Nation President Eva Clayton emphasized the importance of this repatriation – the first of a totem pole from the United Kingdom – to the community.
It was a huge emotional moment to move that totem pole to its rightful place, she said.
It’s a lot of emotions, full of tears, full of pain, but accompanied by great joy.
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Nisga’a Nation President-elect Eva Clayton.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Emilio Avales
“Members of our nation wish to repatriate other totems that belong to us and are scattered across multiple countries,” Eva Clayton added.
The Nisga’a Nation has identified other totem poles on display in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Canada that families may want to take home.
Other First Nations have also reached out to the Nisga’a Nation and our museum to find out how we did it, how we did it, says Theresa Schober, curator of the Nisga’a Museum.
“This is part of the identification process and so far we have only been able to do this in Canada,” said Eva Clayton.
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Eva Clayton, herself a residential school survivor, draws parallels between residential schools and items stolen from Indigenous communities in the 19th and 20th centuries.
These artifacts were taken without our consent, just as children were taken from their parents to go to boarding schools, she said.
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Staff at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh prepare the Nisga’a Nation memorial pole for its return home. (Photo courtesy of Ni’isjoohl House and Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government).
Photo: Olga Tyukova
The President of the Nisga’a Nation sees the return of important cultural assets such as the totem pole as a gesture of reconciliation that will allow us to turn the tide.