Indigenous artifacts returned by the Vatican are now at a Canadian museum

A selection of items returned by the Vatican is now at the Canadian Museum of History after First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders for years called for the repatriation of Indigenous artifacts. Pope Leo XIV gave the artifacts to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said it would return them to Indigenous communities “as soon as possible.” The return is part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture in the Americas. The museum is in Gatineau, across from Canada’s capital of Ottawa.