After nearly a century in the National Museum of Scotland, a stolen totem pole from the Nisga鈥檃 Nation has returned home after a lengthly journey over the Atlantic Ocean.
The totem pole arrived at the Northwest Terrace-Kitimat Regional Airport on September 24 via a Canadian Armed Forces plane and is set to be celebrated with a ceremony at the national Nisga鈥檃 museum in Laxgalts鈥檃p in the Nass Valley on September 29. It first arrived in Trenton, Ont., then landed in Terrace.
Indigenous Education and Governance Canada Research Chair Amy Parent highlighted the historical significance of this event.
鈥淗e had contacted the federal government of Canada, specifically Duncan Campbell Scott, and he gave them permission to remove our family鈥檚 totem pole,鈥� Parent said. 鈥淥f course, we know now that Canada never had that permission to do that and we never gave him permission, so in our viewpoint and in our history, we see that the pole was stolen. It eventually made its way to the Royal Scottish Museum and arrived there in 1930.鈥�
Parent said the effort to repatriate the pole means the world to the Nisga鈥檃 First Nation.
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鈥淚t means everything to our family,鈥� Parent said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like bringing home a dear grandparent that鈥檚 almost in their 90s and have never met that鈥檚 been imprisoned in a European museum for over 90 years.鈥�
The totem pole, crafted in 1860, honours a member of the House of Ni鈥檌sjoohl who died protecting his family and nation. It was stolen in 1929 by ethnographer Marius Barbeau and sold to the Scottish museum.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why 鈥� maybe the price was right; I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e ever going to know that, they chose ours 鈥� something that was common practice back then when museums wanted to acquire Indigenous belongings,鈥� Parent said. 鈥淭here was a belief at that time that we were going to be a vanishing race.鈥�
Parent鈥檚 research led to discussions for its return.
鈥淲e brought a delegation of our senior leadership to the National Museums of Scotland a year ago and we went through a negotiation process that lasted approximately three months,鈥� Parent said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really grateful for their allyship. It wasn鈥檛 an easy process.鈥�
Reflecting on the entire process, Parent acknowledged the positive relationship they had fostered with the National Museums of Scotland and the government of Scotland, underscoring the importance of collaboration in making this homecoming a reality.
Viktor Elias joined the Terrace Standard in April 2023.
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