The Canadian Museum of History has in its care cultural material collected over the past 150 years. While much of the collection was made deliberately and with care, some cultural material was removed from Indigenous communities in ways that are neither justifiable nor ethical. The Museum has been working since the 1970s to return cultural material to Indigenous communities across the country.
For the Museum of History, repatriation means the transfer of cultural material, without condition, to the community of origin at the Museum’s expense. There are no requirements for the community to house returned cultural material in a museum-like facility, although the Museum works regularly with Indigenous communities who choose to do so.
For over five decades, the Museum has responded to requests for repatriation on a regular basis. The Museum also repatriates cultural material proactively, reaching out to communities to return cultural items to their care. As a Crown corporation, the Museum participates in the federal treaty process and has returned cultural material to Indigenous governments through those negotiations. Furthermore, the Museum engages in repatriation discussions through the Sacred Materials Project. Inaugurated in 1993, the project facilitates visits by Indigenous community members to the Museum (at the Museum’s expense), to help staff identify sacred material in the collection, make recommendations on traditional care and handling, perform the requisite ceremonial care, and discuss repatriation, if they wish.
While most of the repatriations carried out to date have been to Indigenous governments and people in Canada, the Museum has also undertaken several international repatriations. The Canadian Museum of History continues to respond to requests from communities for repatriation both nationally and internationally.
In addition to repatriation, the Museum has shared authority agreements, custodial arrangement agreements, and long-term loans in place with Indigenous communities and governments across the country to ensure that decision making by Indigenous people over their cultural heritage is prioritized. This important work continues.
In discussions related to Indigenous cultural heritage, the Museum is guided by its mandate, by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), as well as by its Repatriation Policy (2001) and its Human Remains Policy (2007). Both Policies are currently being updated to better align with the UNDRIP and will be available soon.