For many in the sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen First Nation), the return of a sacred belonging was a celebration and a milestone in righting past wrongs.
On Friday, nation members held a homecoming ceremony for Sqəmáθia, (pronounced skwa-MAH-thee-ah), which was flown in from the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., near Ottawa.
“It’s been an emotional journey,” said Tia Williams, archaeology co-ordinator for the nation. “This has been something in the works for literally generations.”
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Sqəmáθia is a rock sculpture of a person about a foot and a half tall, weighing about 50 pounds, she said. It’s an object that can’t be filmed or photographed, because it is sacred.
In Tsawwassen lore, this figurine is a female ancestor who was turned into stone as punishment for greedily hoarding clams.
It was mislabelled for many years as a hump-backed man, but Indigenous people pointed out the protrusion on its back was actually a clam basket, Williams said.
Many nation members shared their feelings about the repatriation during a two-hour longhouse ceremony.
“I think triumphant is what comes to mind for me,” Kim Baird, chief administrative officer of the Tsawwassen First Nation, told CBC News after the event.
The sculpture was uncovered in the early 20th century in the Tsawwassen area.
Historical documents say in the 1920s, local chief Harry Joe gave it to what has now become the Canadian Museum of History, near Ottawa.
But Baird, the great-granddaughter of Joe, said the exchange was for a promise that wasn’t kept.
“He gave up the stone … to get an audience with the government to talk about our land claim over a hundred years ago,” she said.
Joe didn’t get his wish, but generations later, the nation negotiated a treaty, and now, it has the sacred object back, too.
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The Canadian Museum of History told CBC News it’s committed to advancing reconciliation and the return is a step in a longstanding relationship with the Tsawwassen First Nation.
The museum didn’t make anyone available for an interview, but it sent a written statement.
“We are proud to collaborate with Indigenous partners on a range of initiatives and to provide support as requested, including in matters relating to cultural heritage, repatriation, and shared custodial arrangements,” the statement reads.
Sharon Fortney, a senior curator of Indigenous collections at the Museum of Vancouver, wasn’t involved in this case, but was able to provide context on how repatriation claims work.
She said each museum has its own policy, but for her institution, there’s a key consideration.
“Anything that’s been collected prior to 1970, we assume a period of duress,” said Fortney. “And that has to do with some of those amendments in the Indian Act that prohibited ceremony and also forced children into residential schools and basically put Indigenous people under the control of the government.”
Back at the Tsawwassen First Nation longhouse, Baird said she often thinks about how her great-grandfather would be feeling about the return of Sqəmáθia.
“His unfulfilled vision of having a land claim resolved and having Sqəmáθia back would make him happy,” she said.
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