Vatican Returns Indigenous Artifacts to Canada

The Vatican, led by Pope Leo XVI, returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada on Saturday, November 15, 2025. These items, including an iconic Inuit kayak, were part of the Vatican Museum's ethnographic collection and were originally sent to Rome for a 1925 exhibition. The return is a significant step in the Catholic Church's reckoning with its role in suppressing Indigenous culture and enforcing forced assimilation policies in Canada, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called 'cultural genocide.' The process was accelerated after Pope Francis met with Indigenous leaders in 2022, who requested the return of the objects. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops received the artifacts and will work with the Canada — Canadian Museum of History to ensure their return to specific Indigenous communities. This act follows the Vatican's 2023 repudiation of the 'Doctrine of Discovery,' further acknowledging its complicity in colonial-era abuses.