B.C. First Nation's totem pole being returned by Scotland museum

A memorial totem pole taken almost a century ago from the Nisga'a Nation in British Columbia is being returned to its homelands, says the National Museum of Scotland.

The museum said Thursday its board of trustees approved the First Nation's request to transfer the pole back to its home in northwest B.C.

A delegation of Nisga'a leaders travelled to Edinburgh last August to ask that the 11-metre pole be returned to their territory.

Nisga'a Nation Chief Earl Stephens said in a statement their people believe the hand-carved pole is alive with the spirit of an ancestor and it's now coming home to rest.

“After nearly 100 years, we are finally able to bring our dear relative home to rest on Nisga'a lands,” said Stephens. “It means so much for us to have the Ni'isjoohl memorial pole returned to us, so that we can connect our family, nation and our future generations with our living history.”

The memorial pole was taken without consent in 1929 by an ethnographer researching Nisga'a village life, who then sold it to the Scottish museum where it has been on display since 1930.

A museum statement says the Ni'isjoohl Memorial Pole was carved from red cedar in 1855 in memorial of Ts'aawit, a Nisga'a chief.

The pole includes a series of interlocking figures relating to the chief's family history through his ancestors, family crests and his clan, says the museum.

It originally stood in front of the home of the chief's relatives located near B.C.'s Nass River and is currently on display in the Living Lands gallery at the National Museum of Scotland, says the museum.

The museum's decision to bring the memorial totem back to its home adds to the ongoing story of the history of the Nisga'a Nation, said Dr. Amy Parent, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous education and governance.

“Our hearts have been moved with the commitment to return our family's cultural treasure, which enables us to create a new story to re-right a colonial wrong with the honour, dignity and solidarity of the Scottish peoples who are walking beside us on our decolonizing journeys,” she said in a statement.

The museum said it will begin planning the safe removal of the totem from its display location and prepare it for transport to B.C.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement and to be able to transfer the memorial pole to its people and to the place where its spiritual significance is most keenly understood,” said Chris Breward, the director of National Museums Scotland, in a statement. “We hope this is not the end of the process but the next step in a fruitful and ongoing relationship with the Nisga'a.”

The decision to transfer the memorial totem back to the Nisga'a Nation required and received the approval of the Scottish government, said Ian Russell, board chairman of the trustees of National Museums Scotland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2022.