Indigenous People to Ask Pope to Return Art During Canada Visit

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Indigenous¹ People to Ask Pope² to Return Art During Canada Visit

Pope Francis begins his trip to Canada on Sunday.

The leader of the worldwide Roman Catholic³ Church is going to Canada to apologize for the way Catholic religious workers, or missionaries⁴, treated indigenous people there in the past.

The job of a Catholic missionary⁵ is to spread Catholic religious beliefs. The goal is to get people to become Catholics. In their work, missionaries set up religious schools in Canada that operated for over 100 years, ending in the 1970s. The missionaries separated indigenous children from their families and forced them to attend the Catholic schools. The schools were called "residential⁶" schools because the young people lived there. Because they were away from home, the children were not able to learn traditions from older family members and community leaders.

An important request

While the Pope is in Canada, some indigenous groups plan to ask him to return art objects from their ancestors. Some Catholic leaders say the pieces of art were gifts sent back to Europe to be included in a 1925 event at the Vatican. Others disagree.

Michael Galban is a Washoe and Mono Lake Paiute. He also heads the Seneca Art & Culture Center in New York state. He said it is hard for him to accept that "there wasn't some coercion⁷ going on in those communities to get these objects." Coercion means to make someone do something by force or threats.

Gloria Bell is with the American Academy in Rome and assistant professor at Canada's McGill University. She said: "Using the term ‘gift' just covers up the whole history." Bell added, "We really need to question the context⁸ of how these cultural belongings⁹ got to the Vatican."

Many thousands of artworks and artifacts are kept in a little-visited museum called Anima Mundi inside a group of Vatican buildings within Rome. Anima Mundi is a Latin phrase that means "Soul of the World" in English.

The groups asking for the return of the artifacts include the Metis, who are one of the three large indigenous people of Canada.

It is the second time the Metis will ask the Pope to return the objects. Metis representatives asked the Pope to send the artifacts home last spring during a visit to Italy.

Cassidy Caron is president of the Metis National Council. She said, "the pieces that belong to us should come home."

She said that when the objects come home, her people will be able to tell their story more openly. "We had to hide our culture and hide our traditions to keep our people safe," Caron said. Now that the indigenous people of Canada can speak freely about themselves, they want to explain what the objects are, what they mean and how they are used in ceremonies. In the past, Caron said, many Metis people had to hide their traditions because they were afraid.

The Canadian government has also admitted to working to move the native people into Canadian society in the 1800s and 1900s. For example, the government banned a special ceremony called Potlatch, which it said was too destructive¹⁰, in 1885. Agents took away special objects that were used in the ceremonies, such as masks, that eventually appeared in private collections and museums in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

What is in the museum?

Some of the artifacts in the Vatican Museum include walrus¹¹ tusks¹³, animal skins and special head coverings used for ceremonies. The Vatican says those items were gifts for Pope Pius XI, who served as the Church's leader from 1922 to 1939. Other objects in the collection go back to the 1600s.

One report from a Canadian newspaper in 2021 showed a boat used by the Inuit people of Canada in the museum.

The indigenous leaders say they only know about the objects being shown. They say there could be many more in holding places.

The Vatican News said some objects have been sent back to their people. For example, in 2021, the Church sent a shrunken head used in religious ceremonies back to the Jivaroan people of Ecuador.

Katsitsionni Fox is an indigenous filmmaker from the Mohawk people. She took a video of some of the objects in the museum earlier this year. As she was filming, she can be heard saying "you can sense that's not where they belong and that's not where they want to be."

She showed a display of beaded belts used as money by native peoples and sticks used as weapons.

The museum would not speak with the Associated Press for this story. But in a 2015 listing of the objects it has from the Americas, the museum said the good condition of the artifacts shows how much the Church cares about world cultures.

In other years, the Vatican has worked with Aboriginal¹⁴ communities in Australia to get more information about the artifacts it holds. In 2010, the museum's director went to Australia to speak with native people and record information about the items.

Pope Francis in 2019 said the native peoples' artifacts held by the Catholic Church are cared for in the same way as "the masterpieces of the Renaissance¹⁵ or the immortal¹⁶ Greek and Roman statues." He also noted¹⁷ that the museum is open about the objects it holds, and visitors can see the holding areas through glass dividers.

However, most people who visit the Vatican do not see the collection because it is not popular. Guides do not show visitors Anima Mundi because the displays do not have writings that explain where the artifacts come from and what they were used for.

One native person from Australia, named Neale, said the artifacts are "not being given the respect they deserve by being named in any way." He called the display beautiful but said the collection only shows how the pieces are "exotic¹⁸" but without more information the objects are "culturally diminished²⁰."

It is not clear if informational writing will be added to the collection.

Cultural awareness²¹

Museums in other European nations are making changes to their collections of artifacts from native people. Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are attempting to return objects. Many objects were collected during colonial²² times.

For example, France and Germany announced a plan in late 2021 to return special religious pieces to Nigeria.

Jos van Beurdon follows the efforts some countries are making to return objects to the people who once owned them. He runs the social media group called Restitution²³ Matters.

"There is a certain willingness growing in a number of European countries to return objects...," he said.

A Vatican spokesperson, Matteo Bruni, said the Pope might bring some objects to Canada during the trip. "We'll see what happens in the coming days," Bruni said.

Gregory Scofield is a member of the Metis community from the Canadian province of British Columbia. He is working with the Royal British Columbia Museum to help other indigenous people get back their traditional objects.

He worked to recover over 100 beaded Metis objects that were made between 1840 and 1910. He bought them online and in his travels. Metis scholars and artists can study the collection so they can learn more about the objects.

"These pieces hold our stories," he said. "These pieces hold our history."

Words in This Story

indigenous – adj. produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region or environment

artifact – n. a simple object (such as a tool or weapon) that was made by people in the past

soul – n. the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever

tusk¹² – n. a very long, large tooth that sticks out of the mouth of an animal (such as an elephant, walrus, or boar)

masterpiece – n. a great book, painting, piece of music, or movie

immortal – adj. living forever

exotic – adj. very different, strange or unusual

diminish¹⁹ – v. to make smaller or to lessen²⁴

restitution– n. the act of returning something that was lost or stolen to its owner

scholar– n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 pope   

n.（罗马天主教的）教皇

参考例句：

• The Pope is the spiritual leader of many Christians.教皇是众多基督徒的宗教领袖。
• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。

3 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

4 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

6 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

7 coercion   

n.强制，高压统治

参考例句：

• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions.既不诱供也不逼供。
• He paid the money under coercion.他被迫付钱。

8 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

9 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

10 destructive   

adj.破坏（性）的，毁灭（性）的

参考例句：

• In the end,it will be destructive of our whole society.它最终会毁灭我们整个社会。
• It is the most destructive storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的一次风暴。

11 walrus   

n.海象

参考例句：

• He is the queer old duck with the knee-length gaiters and walrus mustache.他穿着高及膝盖的皮护腿，留着海象般的八字胡，真是个古怪的老家伙。
• He seemed hardly to notice the big walrus.他几乎没有注意到那只大海象。

12 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

13 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

14 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

15 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

16 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 exotic   

adj.奇异的，异乎寻常的，外（国）来的，外国产

参考例句：

• There are some exotic words in English language.英语中有一些外来词。
• She likes to wear exotic clothes.她喜欢穿奇装异服。

19 diminish   

vi.变少，变小，降低；vt.减少，减小，降低

参考例句：

• We should try to diminish the cost of production.我们应尽力减少生产成本。
• He likes to diminish the skill of others.他喜欢贬低别人的技术。

20 diminished   

减少了的，被贬低的

参考例句：

• He was found not guilty of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. 他未被判谋杀罪是基于精神失常而减轻了刑事责任。
• The campers' food supply gradually diminished as the days wore on. 随着一天天的过去，露营者的食物逐渐减少了。

21 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

22 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

23 restitution   

n.赔偿；恢复原状

参考例句：

• It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。
• The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

24 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。