Manitoba Museum apologizes for keeping Indigenous ancestral remains in collections

The Manitoba Museum has issued a formal apology to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities for keeping remains and associated belongings in its collections, promising the museum will never accept human remains again.

The apology, which a museum news release said was given by CEO Dorota Blumczyńska at a closed ceremony and gathering Thursday that included Indigenous leaders and elders, said the museum "sincerely and profoundly" regrets having the items in its collections for decades.

"The Manitoba Museum fully understands our responsibility to address this terrible legacy," the apology, which was posted online, reads in part.

"We recognize that this apology is only the first step of many actions we must take, knowing that great care and many years will be needed to ensure that the Ancestors are returned to their communities according to the wishes of those communities."

The apology is part of what the museum calls its Homeward Journey project, which began in 2022 to try to identify and return the remains in the museum's collections to their communities. 

The process, which is expected to take several years, is being guided by an Indigenous advisory circle and done with a spiritual advisor's blessing, the release said. 

"This is so long overdue, and it's impossible to really express into words how profound the regret is," Blumczyńska told CBC's Up to Speed host Faith Fundal Thursday.

"As much as I wish we would never be where we are today, we cannot change the past. But we are, however, responsible for everything that we do with respect to the future."

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said while it's "hurtful" to hear about remains being stored in an institution like a museum, she was grateful for Thursday's apology.

"What we're seeing today is, you know, recognition and acknowledgement to the wrongs of the past," Wilson said in an interview. "I appreciate the museum's apology today, and we're going to work together and walk together on how we are going to right those wrongs, and how do we move forward together?"

Raymond Frogner, director of research and head of archives for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, said while the process to return the remains and belongings to their community "could have happened decades ago," he was also satisfied to hear the update.

"There needs to be an apology — there needs to be a recognition of what's occurred in the past, before we can go forward with the new model. Otherwise, you know, the bitterness and distrust will remain," Frogner said in an interview. 

"Without these kinds of acknowledgements of what's happened, it's impossible to move forward, I believe."

Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand said while the federation was invited to Thursday's ceremony, they decided not to attend in part because of frustrations over how the museum dealt with a land acknowledgement issue the federation raised recently.

Remains of over 40 people

Many of the remains were taken from burial sites by archaeologists in the early 20th century, when museums were "common repositories" for archaeological and historical projects, the museum's website says. In some cases, they were unintentionally discovered by members of the public and brought to the museum.

The Manitoba Museum stopped accepting remains over 50 years ago — the most recently arrived remains came in 1965, the website says.

The remains being housed at the museum are believed to belong to just over 40 people, and also include some items that may be related to burial sites, including everyday items like tools, pottery and "adornments," the website says.

The remains include children and elderly people, and most appear to have been buried within the last 500 years. None were found at or near former residential school sites, the museum's website says.

Most are from southern Manitoba or the province's Interlake area, while two are from northern Manitoba and a small number came from outside the province — including four potentially from the U.S. The museum is researching to determine which communities to contact about returning the remains. 

Museum CEO Blumczyńska said that work is complicated and involves "trying to learn about each and every single ancestor in a way that adheres to community wishes and protocols and is very respectful."

"We are at a point where we are ready to contact many of the kinship communities and begin to build relationships and build trust and rebuild trust, and repair these relationships so that we can adhere to all of their wishes and their readiness and then bring their ancestors home."

Though in the past, the remains and belongings were housed in the museum's archaeology collections area, and for a short time at a local university, they are now temporarily being kept in two secure, private and restricted areas that have been smudged by a spiritual advisor, the museum's website says. 

The remains and belongings are wrapped in cloth and resting in cedar boxes with the four medicines: tobacco, sweetgrass, sage and cedar.