Canadian Museum of Civilization repatriates Haida remainsHull, Quebec, August 17, 2000 — The Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) returned skeletal remains to the Haida Nation in a private ceremony yesterday evening at the Museum in Hull, Quebec.
This is the CMC's third major human remains repatriation in recent years. Large skeletal collections were transferred in 1998 to the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs at Akwesasne and in 1995 to the Six Nations Council (Iroquois) at Ohsweken, Ontario. First Nations skeletal repatriations are normally undertaken for purposes of reburial by the Native community.
This transfer comes at the request of the Haida Nation and is in accordance with the CMC's Human Remains Policy, in effect since 1991. The policy governs how human remains in the CMC collection are cared for and studied and how, in some situations, they may be returned to First Nations with a direct historical or genealogical relationship.
The Museum provided financial and logistical support to the Haida delegation in the repatriation project. During the week of August 12 to 19 about twenty Haida, including Chiefs and Elders from Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and local Haida from the Ottawa area, visited the Museum to pack their ancestors' remains for shipment back to Haida Gwaii. Yesterday evening, August 16, a feast to pay respect to the ancestors and celebrate the repatriation was held in the Grand Hall of the CMC, attended by about 200 people, including museum officials and representatives from other First Nations and First Nations organizations.
The Haida skeletal remains consist of between 100 and 150 individuals. They were excavated from at least 14 locations on Haida Gwaii by archaeologists between 1898 and 1968 and are several hundred years old. The names and identities of the individuals are not known. Archaeologists and physical anthropologists study ancient human remains to learn about diet and health, ancient population affinities, and the dynamics of population change in the distant past. Part of the Haida skeletal collection was the focus of a Museum scientific study, published in 1973 as Haida Burial Practices (http://www.civilization.ca/pub/mpub08e.html ), by George MacDonald and Jerome Cybulski. The Museum does not exhibit First Nations human remains.
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