They were taken from their graves, a century ago, moved to the United States, and then stored in a museum.
But on Thursday, members of the Tseycum First Nation returned from New York with the human remains of their Coast Salish ancestors.
Their return sparked celebrations among the Tseycum who were clearly delighted to see bones of their ancestors back on Vancouver Island.
A century ago, they had been removed from their graves by an American archeologist, who sold them to museums.
"Now they're home, they don't belong in museums stored in boxes, plastic boxes,'' said Band chief Vern Jacks.
"They'e home now, they can rest in peace," he said.
The remains had most recently been housed in New York city, at the American Museum of Natural History. That's where Tseycum elders travelled to reclaim them.
On Thursday, they landed back in their traditional territory near Sidney, about 30 kilometres north of Victoria.
Band Chief Vern Jacks says the bones have now been transferred to cedar boxes and will be stored in the Tseycum long house until Friday, when a day-log burial ceremony will begin at 6 a.m. Friday morning.
He says the burial will be completed before noon, to be followed by another celebration that will continue for the rest of the day.
Jacks says several younger band members were included in the trip to New York and he's glad they had a chance to witness the hand-over, saying it shows them the Coast Salish are not afraid to protect their ancestors.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Jim Beatty
