Repatriation

CHAPTER X: REPATRIATION

Repatriation

“The Center was to be far more than a museum. It was in fact a box of treasures, and a focus for all our efforts to strengthen the culture, language, and history that were almost lost. We named it the U’mista Cultural Centre.”
— Chief Robert Joseph, 1983

In the 1960s, the Kwakwaka’wakw began formally seeking the repatriation of regalia and Coppers that were illegally confiscated by Canadian authorities during the height of the potlatch ban (1884–1951). Over the next two decades, successful negotiations with Canadian and American museums resulted in the creation of two community centers to house repatriated treasures: the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, BC (which co-developed this exhibit), and the Kwagiulth Museum (now Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre) in Cape Mudge, BC. The returned potlatch materials are now central to larger efforts to strengthen ceremonial culture and the Kwak̓wala language, to educate new generations of local children, and to inform global visitors about Kwakwaka’wakw culture and heritage.

The U’mista Cultural Centre, Alert Bay, British Columbia. Photograph by Aaron Glass.

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2019-06-21T18:44:21+00:00
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