Repatriation, Reconciliation, and the Nuxalk Totem Pole

January 11, 2024

By Beverly Osazuwa

In February 2023, the Nuxalkmc (Nuxalk People) celebrated the return of a totem pole that was held by the Royal British Columbia (BC) Museum for over 100 years. Hereditary Chief Snuxyaltwa (Deric Snow), who led the ceremony and the repatriation process, shared with CBC News that the totem pole was carved by his great-grandfather, the late Louie Snow, in the late 19th or early 20th century. It was placed outside the family longhouse in Talleomy (South Bentinck).^[1]

Indigenous peoples around the world have long sought the return of ancestral remains and cultural artifacts, and the homecoming of a totem to the Nuxalk Nation^[2] adds to the strength of the repatriation movement in Canada. Upon its widely celebrated return, this article contextualizes the legal tools and social action for reconciliation that contributed to its homecoming.

The Nuxalkmc, Smayusta, Treasures & Loss

Nuxalk Nation is located in its unceded traditional territory now known as Bella Coola, British Columbia. The territory is composed of both land and sea areas, with the land calculated to be approximately 18,000 square kilometres. The nation consists of a mixture of at least 45 villages spread across the land.^[3] At one time, more than 70 village sites were active in the territory.^[4] Contemporary Nuxalk Nation is an amalgamation of four groups of people who previously lived in distinct territorial areas: Nuxalk, Kwatna, Taliomi, and Kimsquit. However, since the ‘70s, Bella Coola Valley inhabitants have referred to themselves as the Nuxalk Nation.^[5] For the Nuxalkmc, identity, spirit, and survival are directly tied to the land and this informs their traditions.^[6] The creations and treasures of the Nuxalk people hold an important role in their lives, and totem poles are carved treasures, holding stories of the origin of the Nuxalkmc, their ways, and their responsibilities.^[7]

Snxakila (Clyde Tallio), Storyteller and Culture Bearer of the Nuxalk Nation explains the importance of Smayusta – ancestral stories of Nuxalkmc origin, stating, “When we talk about such treasures like Ats’aaxlh, a totem pole, we have to first reflect on our Smayusta. Smayusta is a really important word for our people. Smayusta is the origins of our people, how we came to be”.^[8] Emily Jean Leishner, Anthropology PhD Candidate, further adds, “Nuxalk treasures display and validate Smayusta—ancestral stories passed down through family lineages and the origin of Nuxalk legal authority.”^[9] Smayusta is thus reaffirmed when treasures and their legal rights are performed and witnessed in potlatch and ceremony with the community.^[10] Crests representing a family’s Smayusta can be recognized on items such as totem poles, masks, and button blankets.

Taking on various forms, totem poles are significant in Nuxalk culture for carrying the stories of their traditions, as well as acting as territory, land, and grave markers.^[11] In Nuxalk territory, each longhouse had a totem pole as a way of claiming and presenting one’s ancestral origin. Totem poles also came in various forms such as free-standing poles, entrance pales, inside corner posts, etc.^[12] It is also said that designs for totem poles are given to carvers directly by the Great Spirit, A”tguntHm, or are meant to depict incidents connected with the ancestors.^[13]

Snxakila shares the following on reading traditions through totems:

When you’re reading a pole, it’s a reflection of the poles at the beginning of time. Our steldam [chiefs] are reflecting themselves after the great spirit chiefs. They’re reflecting on the traditions that they established, traditions of generosity that the ocean gives. Our creator always provided for us and we were able to develop a culture of generosity because the ocean is so giving.^[14]

According to Hereditary Chief Snuxyaltwa, the treasure possessed by the Royal B.C. Museum was one at the entrance of his family’s longhouse in the Nuxalk village of Talyu before community members were forced to relocate to Bella Coola to escape the smallpox epidemic in the 1900s.^[15] The disease severely impacted the Nation, reducing its population from several thousand to 17 people.^[16] Chief Snuxyaltwa’s family was among the last people to live in the village.^[17]

Acquired in 1913 by Charles F. Newcombe, a Victoria-based medical doctor who made ethnographic collections for museums like the Royal B.C. Museum, the house entrance pole was purchased for $45, among other artifacts. Chief Snuxyaltwa’s grandfather’s pole was later installed at the First Peoples Gallery of the museum in 1977.^[18]

Legal Tools and Social Action for Repatriation in Canada

Indigenous cultural heritage rights are informed by various institutions, including international cultural heritage law and human rights law standards, as well as through federal heritage laws and provincial laws. For example, Article 11.1 and 12.2 of the United Nations’ Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) affirm the right to cultural practice and state responsibility in the repatriation process:

11.1: Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.

…

12.2: States shall seek to enable the access and/or repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains in their possession through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned.”^[19]

The assertions of these articles have thus provided a stronger basis for international recognition and mobilization for Indigenous communities to advocate for the repatriation of cultural property, and this is evident in the Nuxalk case. The repatriation of cultural property is an ongoing endeavour in Canada and UNDRIP initiatives have brought more attention to these calls, prompting government response.

In Canada, the history of colonization and the movement for repatriation are deeply linked. The Canadian government displaced Indigenous peoples from their lands through various mechanisms such as unethical treaties and residential schools.^[20] In the process of colonization, missionaries, government agents, and other collectors often confiscated, coerced, unethically acquired, or purchased Indigenous cultural artifacts for Canadian museums and their ethnology collections. Indigenous peoples were also banned from practicing traditional ceremonies under the Indian Act until 1951.^[21]

Presently, there are no federal repatriation laws in Canada. However, Indigenous traditions and cultural property have long been implicated in federal laws such as the Indian Act, wherein section 91 offers protection to a limited group of cultural artifacts located on reserves, including totem poles, grave poles, and rock carvings.^[22] Introduced in 1876, the Indian Act is contentious but remains to be the primary act that governs the relationship between certain Indigenous peoples and the federal government of Canada. It governs matters such as Indian status, bands, legal rights, trading, and reserves. Historically, the Indian Act has functioned as a mechanism for assimilation, discrimination, and the invasive control of Indigenous lives.^[23] Hence, although it provides some basis of protection for certain artifacts, the Act cannot be understood without its context in actively constraining Indigenous culture and sovereignty.

Turning to the provinces and territories, while each has a museum, archive, or cultural heritage act, Alberta is the only province with specific laws on repatriation, as per its First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act (2000). The Act recognizes the desire for the return of sacred objects by First Nation communities and provides a general right to apply for repatriation.^[24] In other provinces and territories, repatriation may appear as a section within museum acts^[25] or modern treaties.^[26] The Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum are the only two federal museums with repatriation policies, and over half of the provincial and territorial museums in Canada have repatriation policies.^[27] For example, the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation developed a repatriation policy that applies to the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum, and which outlines procedures for repatriation requests, criteria, and research.^[28]

Despite the many of these policies and laws coming into force in the early 2000’s, momentum seemed to slow until there was a rise in attention to social calls demanding for reconciliation, which was inclusive of a right to culture and repatriation. In its final report published in 2015, Canada’s National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation defined reconciliation as “establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in this country.”^[29] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was formed through a legal settlement between Residential School Survivors, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit representatives, and Federal government and church bodies, who created and operated the schools.

To achieve true reconciliation, the Commission explains, there must be an awareness of the past, acknowledgment of harm, atonement for its cause, and action to change behaviour. The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission featured a call to action with 96 policy recommendations to aid the national healing process. The recommendations touch on all aspects of Canadian society and institutions, with number 67 stating the following to museums:

We call upon the federal government to provide funding to the Canadian Museums Association to undertake, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, a national review of museum policies and best practices to determine the level of compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to make recommendations.^[30]

This call to action, however, was not the first. Other calls to action include the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Canadians to begin a national process of reconciliation that would fundamentally change the relationship between Canada and Aboriginal peoples.^[31] An important element of these calls is the need to support Indigenous communities, their histories, and ways of life. As such, the repatriation of Indigenous cultural heritage has signified the work of healing these relations and honouring Indigenous histories.

These calls for action have reignited the topic of cultural property in Canadian politics and have produced tangible outcomes. In 2019, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to pass an act to ensure that provincial laws are in alignment with the Declaration and to initiate the implementation of the objectives of the Declaration in the province.^[32] The B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) confirmed the requirement for the province to work in cooperation and consultation with Indigenous peoples. Federally, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was passed in 2021. Correspondingly, social calls have also informed the conduct and policies of Canadian museums and their associations, who are updating their policies and expanding their visions of repatriation. This is evidenced by a recent statement by the B.C. Museum Association, calling upon “all publicly funded institutions in Canada to take this critical step in reconciliation, and work collaboratively with Indigenous Nations to repatriate their ancestors’ remains.”^[33] The timeline and evolution of these various measures show that the relationship between the influence of social and legal is both reciprocal and forward-moving.

Homecoming

In 2019, four hereditary chiefs and members of the family met with administrators of the Royal BC Museum to initiate the process of repatriation of Chief Snuxyaltwa’s totem pole. The museum has a repatriation policy that acknowledges that many of the artifacts in its possession were unethically acquired or stolen and expresses a commitment to working with communities on repatriation requests.^[34] Unfortunately, these discussions grew silent, which prompted Chief Snuxyaltwa to file a lawsuit for the artifact’s formal pursuit in January 2022.^[35] Once the communication resumed, the lawsuit was dropped, and the museum proceeded with the return of the pole.

Travelling from Victoria to Bella Coola, in February 2023, the totem pole was returned to its people. As the artifact left the museum, Nuxalk Nation members gathered to greet the totem pole, with some members drumming and singing, smudging and cheering. Two days of ceremony were held before the pole was escorted back to its territory, making a trip of over 1,000 kilometres.^[36]

While the case was settled out of court, the homecoming of a Nuxalk Nation totem pole is one instance, among many, that shows the growing momentum of repatriation in Canada. The repatriation of Indigenous cultural property remains a significant component in the work of reconciliation and decolonization. With a wider recognition of the rights to culture and the effect of international law and social commissions informing lawmakers and policy leaders, the landscape and possibilities for these claims are changing. This case attests to that change and offers communities stronger mechanisms to regain their artifacts.

Suggested Readings

• Canadian Museums Association, Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian Museums (2022)
• Vanessa Tünsmeyer, Repatriation of Sacred Indigenous Cultural Heritage and the Law : Lessons from the United States and Canada, 3 Studies in Art, Heritage, Law and the Market, (v.3. 2022).
• Emily Jean Leischner, Kulhulmcilh and Iixsalh : Our Land and Medicine : Creating a Nuxalk Database of Museum Collections, Electronic Theses and Dissertations, University of British Columbia, (2018).

About the Author

Beverly Osazuwa is a second-year law student at the McGill University Faculty of Law. Her passion for art and cultural property law is born out of her Nigerian (Edo, Bini) heritage. Prior to her legal studies, she completed a Master of Arts in Political and Legal Thought at Queen’s University and obtained a Bachelor of Humanities from Carleton University.

Bibliography:

1. CBC News, Nuxalk Nation celebrates return of totem pole after more than a century, (Feb. 20, 2023) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nuxalk-nation-totem-pole-returned-1.6751205. ↑
2. The Nuxalk Nation is the band government of the Nuxalk people of Bella Coola, British Columbia. Additionally, Nuxalk (singular) or Nuxalkmc (plural) refer to the people. See British Columbia Assembly, Nuxalk Nation, https://www.bcafn.ca/first-nations-bc/vancouver-island-coast/nuxalk-nation. ↑
3. Canadian Museum of History, Grandhall Tour – Nuxalk House, https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/grand/ghhe3eng.html. ↑
4. American Museum of Natural History, Nuxalk, https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/northwest-coast/nuxalk. ↑
5. Jennifer Kramer, Switchbacks: art, ownership, and Nuxalk national identity 24, (2011); Dorothy Kennedy and Randy Bouchard, Nuxalk (Bella Coola), (Feb. 06, 2006), https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nuxalk-bella-coola. ↑
6. Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance, Nuxalk Nation, https://www.ccira.ca/nuxalk/. ↑
7. Royal BC Museum, Riches From The Sea, https://totems.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/en/story/Riches. ↑
8. Royal BC Museum, Riches From The Sea, https://totems.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/en/story/Riches. ↑
9. Emily Jean Leischner, What Happens to Indigenous Law in the Museum?, 10 (1) Museum Worlds, 31 (2022). ↑
10. Id. ↑
11. Nuxalk Smayusta, Snuxyaltwa Totem Pole Raising, http://www.nuxalk.net/html/snuxyaltwa.htm. ↑
12. Margaret A Stott, “Bella Boola Ceremony and Art, McGill University (Thesis), 29 (1968). ↑
13. Id. at 28. ↑
14. Royal BC Museum, Riches From The Sea, https://totems.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/en/story/Riches. ↑
15. Courtney Dickson, Cultural items belonging to Nuxalk, Gitxaala Nations to be repatriated, (Feb 01, 2023) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/items-belonging-to-gitxaala-nation-nuxalk-first-nation-to-be-repatriated-1.6734032. ↑
16. Royal BC Museum, Riches From The Sea, https://totems.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/en/story/Riches. ↑
17. Id. ↑
18. Royal BC Museum, Riches From The Sea, https://totems.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/en/story/Riches. ↑
19. United Nations’ Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007, United Nations. ↑
20. Zach Parrott, Indigenous Peoples in Canada, (Jan. 11, 2023) https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people; The Honourable Lillian Eva Dyck, and the Honourable Scott Tannas, How did we get here? : a concise, unvarnished account of the history of the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canada, (2019), Senate of Canada. Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. https://sencanada.ca/en/info-page/parl-42-1/appa-new-relationship/. ↑
21. René R Gadacz, Repatriation of Artifacts, (Mar. 3,2023), https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/repatriation-of-artifacts. ↑
22. Indian Act, R.S.C., 1985, sec. 91. ↑
23. John Milloy, Indian Act Colonialism: A Century of Dishonour, 1869-1969, Research Paper for the National Centre for First Nations Governance, (2008); Erin Hanson, Indigenous Foundations – Arts UBC, The Indian Act, https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act/. ↑
24. First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act (2000), RSA, Chapter F-14. ↑
25. See e.g, Royal Saskatchewan Museum Act (2007), R-23.01, s.6. ↑
26. See e.g, Maa-nulth Final Agreement, 2011, Chapter 20, Artifacts, Heritage sites, and Place names. ↑
27. Rebecca L. Bourgeois, Repatriation in Canada: A Guide for Communities, 2022, University of Alberta,

    https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/2dfb153e-76da-4caca968-a3f6b2e3a61c. ↑

28. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, Repatriation Policy, 2011. ↑
29. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, What We Have Learned: Principles of Truth and Reconciliation, 113 (2015). ↑
30. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Call to Action, art.67 (2015). ↑
31. Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples 15 (1996). ↑
32. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, SBC, 2019. ↑
33. BC Museum Association, The BCMA calls upon all publicly-funded institutions to repatriate ancestral human remains and burial items, (2021) https://museum.bc.ca/cta-press-release/. ↑
34. Royal British Columbia Museum, Report to British Columbians, (2021), https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/images/rbcm_report_8070_final_05.pdf. ↑
35. Anna McMillan and Adam Chan, Nuxalk First Nation still waiting for return of family totem pole from Royal B.C. Museum, chief says, (Jan. 26, 2023) https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/royal-b-c-museum-returning-totem-pole-to-b-c-first-nation-1.6247499. ↑
36. Kathryn Marlow and Courtney Dickson, Hugs, smiles and tears greet Nuxalk totem pole as it leaves Victoria, B.C., museum, (Feb. 13, 2023), https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nuxalk-nation-totem-pole-return-royal-bc-museum-1.6742581. ↑