By The Canadian Press

First Nations leaders unveil items repatriated from the Vatican at History Museum

Mar 10, 2026 | 12:12 PM

OTTAWA — First Nations leaders unveiled today five items repatriated to their communities after being at the Vatican for more than a century, and unboxed another two crates of items with origins that have yet to be determined.

Among the items include a birch bark sap collector from Akwesasne, leather embroidered gloves from Athabasca Chipewyan, a wooden bowl and spoon from Manitoulin Island and a model cradle board from somewhere in Ontario.

Other items, unboxed in a private ceremony, include a bow and arrow, a loom, a child-sized jacket and an adult-sized dress, alongside several pairs of moccasins.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the repatriation is emotional, and represents years of work from First Nations leaders who advocated for their return from the Vatican.

In 2022, an Indigenous delegation met with Pope Francis in Rome and were given a private viewing of some 62 artifacts held by the Vatican for more than a century, originally used for an exhibition in 1925.

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In November, Pope Leo XIV said the items would be transferred to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said it would immediately turn them over to Indigenous communities in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press