Steve Munroe is the Deputy Minister in the BC Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation. He attended the Spirit of Our Ancestors Has Returned Home celebration in Laxgalts'ap and shares his thoughts.

I’m a numbers guy. An economist in practice and at heart, I’ve long thought about treaties in terms of decimal points and hectares, land and cash. I admit I haven’t always focused on how treaties impact culture.

That changed in September when I travelled to the Nisga’a community of Laxgalts’ap to represent the province at a repatriation ceremony – almost 300 Nisga’a artifacts, housed for decades in the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, were coming home to the Nass River valley.

Agreement in action
The items were returning to the Nisga’a Nation under the terms of the Nisga’a Final Agreement. Grab a copy of the 400-plus page appendices or go online and you’ll see them in Appendix L: Dozens of artifacts – cradles, charms, sculptures, soul catchers and other objects – represented by words and numbers.

The program for the event was entitled Anhluut’ukwsim Anhooya’ahl Nisga’a / The Sacred Artifacts of our Ancestors. Many of the cultural objects being returned had been obtained by the collector, Charles F. Newcombe, between 1906 and 1913. The Royal BC Museum looked after these objects for a century and was able to reconnect the objects with their traditional owners as part of the province’s commitments under the Nisga’a Treaty. Sadly, thousands of other Nisga’a artifacts were destroyed in the early 20th century, sometimes under pressure from missionaries who thought that traditional cultural practices and Christianity could not coexist.

Happy interruption
The event was called The Spirit of Our Ancestors Has Returned Home. It began like many First Nations events with prayers, dances, speeches from Chiefs in regalia and remarks from other dignitaries. Part-way through the ceremony, the speaker’s words were drowned out by the roar of two enormous transport trucks, from Ottawa and Victoria, which rumbled up to the new national Nisga’a museum. Air brakes gasped and the crowd parted. Everyone fell silent as the first box of artifacts was placed cautiously on the asphalt. Then a dozen Nisga’a elders made their way to the crate, placed their hands on the lid and broke the silence. They were weeping.

It hit me and blew me away all at once. Their joy. Their sadness. Their gratitude. Their tremendous dignity. It was remarkable.

Moments later, to everyone’s delight and amazement, a group of teenagers (some wearing baseball caps sideways) gathered around a returned totem. Together they pushed the pole, on its enormous wheeled-platform, and did laps around the museum building, shouting “hip, hip hooray!” It was spontaneous and joyful expression that inspired me beyond words.

A defining moment
Suddenly the treaty became more than money, land or self-government; it became about the Nisga’a ancestors and their spirits. These objects, these numbers from appendix L of the Nisga’a Final Agreement, are a living part of Nisga’a oral culture, passed down with their stories. They represent critical knowledge for future generations and they are as important as all the land and cash considerations that have kept me awake at night.
It was an intensely personal moment for the Nisga’a people, yet they shared it with people like me. You could see their pain, but there was no bitterness, no anger. The Nisga’a leaders said over and over “the past happened, and all we can do is move forward.” It was reconciliation.

I think it goes without saying that everyone working with First Nations understands the significance and importance of this work. But I wish all agencies and employees who do this work could have been with me on the shores of the Nass River to see our negotiations bear fruit. I was proud of British Columbia’s role.

I hope, by sharing this story, each of you is as motivated as I am – to see the ways treaties are coming to life and to celebrate by doing laps around your building.

Reprinted with permission.